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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a ceremony marking the 102nd anniversary of Battle of Canakkale, also known as the Gallipoli Campaign, at the Turkish memorial in Canakkale, Turkey, March 18, 2017. Photo by Osman Orsal/Reuters

ISTANBUL Turkeys president said Saturday the country might pursue a Brexit-like referendum on whether to pursue European Union membership and also lashed out at a critical protest in Switzerland.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan brought up the proposal at a Turkish-U.K. forum in the southern city of Antalya, referring to the British departure from the EU and saying Turkey might hold a similar referendum after the April 16 vote to expand the powers of the Turkish presidency.

The negotiation process for Turkeys EU membership began in 2005, but has been at a standstill for years.

Tensions between Ankara and several European capitals have been escalating ahead of the contentious April 16 referendum.

Turkish opposition members and Western allies have criticized the constitutional referendum, saying it would grant Erdogan unprecedented authority with limited checks and balances.

Earlier this month, Dutch and German authorities restricted Turkish officials from campaigning for diaspora votes, resulting in harsh criticism from Ankara.

At a rally earlier Saturday, Erdogan lashed out at the critics who claimed Turkey would not be allowed into the EU if the referendum passed, saying it would make our job easier if Europe made that call and adding Turkey is no ones whipping boy.

Erdogan also criticized a demonstration in Switzerland on Saturday where protestors hung a giant banner depicting the Turkish president with a gun to his head.

People hold banners and flags during a demonstration against Erdogan dictatorship and in favour of democracy in Turkey in Bern, Switzerland March 25, 2017. The bannerr reads Say no to Erdogan. Photo by Ruben Sprich/Reuters

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had summoned Swiss charge daffaires to condemn the incident and that the minister had called his Swiss counterpart to voice his displeasure.

The statement also claimed the demonstrators belonged to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, adding that it would be closely monitoring the legal and administrative actions to be taken by Swiss authorities regarding this crime.

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Erdogan: Turkey might hold referendum on EU membership - PBS NewsHour

Former Central Intelligence Agency Director James Woolsey told CNN Friday that former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn met with representatives of the Turkish government in 2016 and discussed potential ways to send a foe of Turkey's president back to face charges in that country,

As a representative of Flynn Intel Group, Flynn met with senior representatives of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government in September 2016, Woolsey said. Woolsey was a Trump campaign adviser at the time and attended the meeting -- but said he arrived after it was already well underway.

Woolsey claims that those present discussed sending Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim leader who Erdogan has accused of being behind a failed military coup to overthrow him, back to Turkey to face charges -- possibly outside the legal US extradition system.

"What I saw and heard was sort of the end of the conversation -- it's not entirely clear what transpired because of that," Woolsey said on "CNN Tonight" with Don Lemon. "But it looks as if there was at least some strong suggestion by one or more of the Americans present at the meeting that we would be able, the United States would be able, through them, to be able to get hold of Gulen, the rival for Turkey's political situation."

A spokesman for Flynn flatly denied Woolsey's characterization of the meeting.

"The claim made by Mr. Woolsey that General Flynn, or anyone else in attendance, discussed physical removal of Mr. Gulen from the United States during a meeting with Turkish officials in New York is false," Flynn spokesman Price Floyd said in a statement. "No such discussion occurred. Nor did Mr. Woolsey ever inform General Flynn that he had any concerns whatsoever regarding the meeting, either before he chose to attend, or afterwards."

The Wall Street Journal first reported Woolsey's claims Friday.

Flynn was advising the Trump campaign at the time. He became national security adviser after Donald Trump became President in January but resigned in mid-February, after he reportedly misled administration officials about his communications with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

Woolsey, who was CIA director under President Bill Clinton and who was on President Trump's team for about five months before quitting in January, said he didn't hear enough of what was said to make any definitive statements about what happened before he got there.

"The reason I'm being cautious about how this was worded is because I wasn't there for much of this meeting," said Woolsey, who nevertheless described the meeting as "suspicious" and "concerning."

"I felt I needed to say something to somebody, but was it a clear plot that they were going to seize him? No," he said.

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Woolsey: Flynn discussed sending Erdogan foe back to Turkey - WTAE Pittsburgh

New York Times

Erdogan Warns Europeans on Their Safety as Tensions Rise With West New York Times KASTAMONU, Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey warned Europeans on Wednesday that they would no longer be able to walk safely in the street if Western politicians continued with perceived provocations against Turkish leaders. Erdogan warns Europeans 'will not walk safely' if attitude persists, as row carries onCNBC Erdogan says Turkey will review EU ties after April referendumReuters Erdogan vows Turkey will 'review relations with EU'BBC News The Independent -POLITICO.eu -Huffington Post all 678 news articles »

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Erdogan Warns Europeans on Their Safety as Tensions Rise With West - New York Times

ANKARA President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Europeans would not be able to walk safely on the streets if they kept up their current attitude toward Turkey, his latest salvo in a row over campaigning by Turkish politicians in Europe.

Turkey has been embroiled in a dispute with Germany and the Netherlands over campaign appearances by Turkish officials seeking to drum up support for an April 16 referendum that could boost Erdogan's powers.

Ankara has accused its European allies of using "Nazi methods" by banning Turkish ministers from addressing rallies in Europe over security concerns. The comments have led to a sharp deterioration in ties with the European Union, which Turkey still aspires to join.

"Turkey is not a country you can pull and push around, not a country whose citizens you can drag on the ground," Erdogan said at an event for Turkish journalists in Ankara, in comments broadcast live on national television.

"If Europe continues this way, no European in any part of the world can walk safely on the streets. Europe will be damaged by this. We, as Turkey, call on Europe to respect human rights and democracy," he said.

Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier used his first speech as president on Wednesday to warn Erdogan that he risked destroying everything his country had achieved in recent years, and that he risked damaging diplomatic ties.

"The way we look (at Turkey) is characterized by worry, that everything that has been built up over years and decades is collapsing," Steinmeier said in his inaugural speech in the largely ceremonial role.

He called for an end to the "unspeakable Nazi comparisons."

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said earlier that although Turkish government officials were still taking part in events for expatriate Turks across Europe, they were not campaigning for the referendum.

The Union of European Turkish Democrats, which organizes events in Europe, said on Tuesday that Turkish leaders would no longer hold campaign rallies in Germany after an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel said they were not welcome.

Germany, home to some 1.4 million Turks eligible to vote in the referendum, has been angered by the Nazi comparisons and Merkel has demanded that Ankara halt the rhetoric. Erdogan, however, has repeated the message in speech after speech.

The Netherlands, also home to a large ethnic Turkish diaspora, has been embroiled in a similar row with Turkey.

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 criticized 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.

(Additional reporting by Madeline Chambers in Berlin; Editing by Julia Glover and Toby Chopra)

BEIJING China said on Thursday the United States should respect its air defense identification zone (ADIZ), after CNN reported China had warned a U.S. bomber it was illegally flying inside China's self-declared zone in the East China Sea.

ANKARA Turkey is in talks with the United States and Britain to exclude Turkish Airlines and Istanbul's main Ataturk airport from a ban on passengers carrying electronics larger than cell phones, Turkey's foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

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Erdogan warns Europeans 'will not walk safely' if attitude ...

New York Times

London, Syria, Erdogan: Your Thursday Briefing - The New York Times New York Times On Wednesday, Prime Minister Theresa May denounced the sick and depraved terrorist attack, in which the assailant mowed down pedestrians in a sport utility ... and more »

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