Ali Kemal Aydın

Turkish envoy to Germany said racism is still a big threat in Germany on the 27th anniversary of a racist attack in Solingen which saw the killing of five members of a Turkish family.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Ali Kemal Aydın said the pain caused by the racist attack that ultimately killed five Turks including three children is still alive in the hearts of the Turkish community.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Feb. 20 said that Turkey is "keeping a close eye" on developments in Germany, after attacks in two bars in Hanau, Germany that killed nine people, including five Turkish nationals.

"Turkey, and especially the Turkish Embassy in Berlin, is carefully monitoring the process," Erdoğan said.

Turkey and Germany are experiencing perhaps the worst crisis in their deep relations in modern times.

The chairman of the German Parliament Bundestag Committee on human rights, Matthias Zimmer, has urged Turkey's ambassador to Germany over the detention of two human rights activists working for Amnesty International, calling on Turkey to release them.

The German Justice Ministry's invitation to an official reception to former Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief Can Dündar as a guest of honor is a "provocation" ahead of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Turkey, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Müftüoğlu has told reporters. 

The Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry has summoned the German charge d'affaires in Ankara to express its reaction over German Justice Minister Heiko Maas' invitation of Turkish journalist Can Dündar to a reception in Berlin, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) reported on Jan. 24. 

Ambassador Hüseyin Müftüoğlu has been appointed as the new spokesperson of Turkey's Foreign Ministry, from his current position as chairman of the South-Eastern Europe Defense Ministerial - Coordination Committee (SEDM-CC).

Müftüoğlu replaced Tanju Bilgiç, who has been appointed as Turkey's new ambassador to Belgrade. 

National Intelligence Service Deputy Undersecretary İsmail Hakkı Musa has been appointed as Turkey's new ambassador to Paris, according to the Official Gazette published on Oct. 28.

Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ali Kemal Aydın, meanwhile, has been appointed as Turkey's new ambassador to Berlin.