Foreign Ministry denounces Bundestag vice president's remarks about Erdoğan

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Spokesperson of Türkiye's Mimnistry of Foreign Affairs has denounced recent remarks of the vice president of Germany's Federal Parliament, Wolfgang Kubicki, targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

"We condemn in the strongest terms the insulting statements made by Mr. Wolfgang Kubicki, about our president in a speech he delivered as part of the Lower Saxony state election campaign," Tanju Bilgiç told reporters today (September 27).

"These unacceptable statements of Kubicki are not befitting his position as the Vice President of the Federal Parliament and are completely devoid of political morality and responsibility. These indecent statements also give an idea about Kubicki's political and moral level and reveal his banality.

"Our strong reaction was conveyed to the Ambassador of Germany to Ankara, who was summoned to the Ministry today."

Kubicki had called Erdoğan a "sewer rat" (abwasserratte) in the in the mentioned speech.

Approached by the Turkish service of Germany'S public broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Kubicki's office said he had used that word in reference to Erdoğan's refugee policy.

Sewer rat is a "tiny and cute, but also a clever and cunning creature," he said, adding that Erdoğan has succeeded in striking a refugee deal with Europe. (SD/VK)