04 March 2017•Update: 05 March 2017
KIRSEHIR/NEVSEHİR, Turkey
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the recent rally ban crisis between the two countries in a phone call on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters in THE central Kirsehir province, Yildirim said the phone conversation lasted longer than expected.
"We will follow a slightly different path from now on regarding future events [rallies]. The foreign ministers of two countries will meet next week to clarify this issue," Yildirim said.
Earlier this week, Germany banned rallies of Turkish officials ahead of the April 16 referendum on constitutional changes.
On Thursday, the municipality of Gaggenau in southwest Germany revoked its permission for Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag's meeting, citing concerns about overcrowding. This prompted Bozdag to cancel his planned visit to Germany altogether.
Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci’s planned address on Sunday to a Turkish community in the western city of Cologne was also cancelled by local authorities over security concerns.
The move drew strong criticism from the Turkish government and opposition parties alike.
"We have broken the back of terrorism"
In a separate referendum rally in the central Nevsehir province later on Saturday, Yildirim said Turkey was determined to continue its fight against terror.
"We have broken the back of terrorism. We have eradicated it from the cities. We are on their [terrorist organizations] back wherever they may be," he said, adding Turkey would completely remove terrorism from its agenda after the referendum.
Since it resumed its armed campaign in July 2015, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of approximately 1,200 security personnel and civilians, including women and children.
In addition to the ongoing anti-terrorism operations at home, the country is also pursuing a military operation against Daesh in northern Syria.
The Turkish-led Operation Euphrates Shield began last August to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the terror threat along the Turkish border using Free Syrian Army fighters backed by Turkish artillery and jets.
