Turkey accuses Germany of supporting Turkish coup group

Turkey has accused Germany of supporting a network of a US-based Muslim cleric it blames for last year's failed attempted coup, as diplomatic feud between the two countries continues to drag on.

Tensions between the two countries have been rising after Germany banned Turkish ministers from speaking to rallies of expatriate Turks in Germany ahead of a referendum in Turkey in April, citing public safety concerns.

Bruno Kahl, the head of Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency, in an interview with German news magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday claimed Ankara had failed to convince Germany that the cleric, Fethullah Gulen, was responsible for the coup attempt.

“Turkey has tried to convince us of that at every level but so far it has not succeeded,” Der Spiegel said.

Meanwhile spokesman for Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan said the comments were proof Germany was supporting Gulen's network, which Ankara refers to as the "Gulenist Terrorist Organisation" or "FETO".

Ibrahim Kalin who was speaking to broadcaster CNN Turk said:

“It's an effort to invalidate all the information we have given them on FETO. It's a sign of their support for FETO. 

"Why are they protecting them? Because these are useful instruments for Germany to use against Turkey."

Turkey blames Gulen's network of followers in the military for the failed coup in July, 2016 when a group of rogue soldiers seized tanks, helicopters and war planes to attack parliament and attempt to overthrow the government which left about 240 people dead.

Though Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, denied the charges and condemned the coup.

Mr Khalin claimed President Erdogan could plan a rally to address Turks in Germany before the April 16 referendum on changing the constitution.

About 1.4 million Turkish nationals in Germany are eligible to vote in next month’s referendum.

Reuters