Merkel, Erdogan set to meet ahead of G20

[BERLIN] German Chancellor Angela Merkel will likely meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, the eve of a G20 summit, her spokesman said as tensions simmer between Ankara and Berlin.

Ms Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said the talks would "likely take place tomorrow", a day before Group of 20 leaders meet in the northern port city of Hamburg.

Bilateral relations have been fraught, deteriorating sharply over Turkey's mass crackdown after a failed coup last year and a host of other civil rights controversies.

Ankara last week reacted angrily after Berlin refused to allow Mr Erdogan to address members of the large ethnic Turkish community in a rally in Germany ahead of the G20 summit.

And on Tuesday, Turkey protested officially to Germany that an artist was allowed to set up an installation in central Berlin offering a car as a prize in exchange for killing world leaders including Erdogan.

The installation was set up outside Ms Merkel's offices in Berlin on Monday, comprising a Mercedes C-class car and banners with pictures of Mr Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi King Salman.

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AFP