Deputy PM slams CHP head's remarks on Turkey

ANKARA

Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag Wednesday accused the main opposition party leader of contributing to disseminating misperceptions about Turkey with his remarks to a German weekly.

Bozdag’s remarks came after Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu’s recent remarks in an interview with German weekly Focus, in which he talked about an alleged lack of security in Turkey.

"In Turkey, there is currently no guarantee of security for anyone, neither for life nor for property," the CHP leader said, adding it was "not safe" for Germans to travel to Turkey.

"Kilicdaroglu’s statement is a major blow to the Turkish economy and Turkish tourism,” Bozdag said.

"When you read the interview, you can clearly see that the questions of the Focus magazine official were asked to get the answers Germany [already] expects in regards to its criticism towards Turkey,” Bozdag said.

“However,” he added, “it is very strange that Kilicdaroglu did not [behave] like Turkey's main opposition party [leader].”

“A main opposition party leader does not speak in a way that leads the economy of his own country to suffer and puts its people in a difficult situation,” Bozdag said.

*Reporting by Sinan Uslu; Writing by Sibel Uğurlu, Ahmet Sait Akçay