Kurtulmus, who is also the Turkish government’s chief spokesman, repeated the rhetoric on Wednesday, saying the “footsteps of neo-Nazism and extreme racism” could be heard in Europe.
Another deputy prime minister, Veysi Kaynak, meanwhile criticised Norway for granting asylum to Turkish military officers suspected of links to the religious network accused by Ankara of orchestrating last July’s coup attempt.
“This, unfortunately, in my opinion, is the first sign that Europe, which suffered from civil wars that cost the lives of innocent people for hundreds of years, … is turning into that Dark Age again,” Kaynak was quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency as saying.
The Turkish foreign ministry’s spokesman said later on Wednesday that the ministry had summoned the Norwegian ambassador to Ankara to express Turkey’s concerns over Norway’s decision to grant asylum to the individuals.
Since the failed coup, which Ankara says was orchestrated by U.S.-based cleric Fetullah Gulen, some 40,000 people have been arrested in Turkey and more than 100,000 sacked or suspended from the military, civil service and private sector, while others have sought asylum abroad.
The foreign ministry’s spokesman said Turkey would continue to pursue the matter.
