AUSTRIA WARNS PM ERDOGAN TO 'TONE IT DOWN' DURING VISIT

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AUSTRIA WARNS PM ERDOGAN TO 'TONE IT DOWN' DURING VISIT

10:56 â~@¢ 13.06.14

Austria warned Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan on June 12 not
to say anything that may "split" Austrian society when he visits
next week, following his contentious visit to Germany last month,
the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Erdogan raised eyebrows last month when he made disparaging remarks
about a German opposition leader of Turkish origin and spoke out
against "assimilation" in a pugnacious speech in Cologne.

"I warn Prime Minister Erdogan explicitly: he should not introduce
splits in Austrian society," Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz
told Oesterreich daily on Friday.

"If he makes a positive speech and addresses the right things -
learning German and being loyal to Austria - then he can help,"
said Kurz, who was formerly Austria's integration minister.

"But if he does the opposite, like he did in Germany, then he does
damage not only to our majority population but also first and foremost
to Turkish immigrants."

Erdogan is due in Vienna - home to many of Austria's 250,000-strong
Turkish community - on June 19.

The visit is seen by many as a bid to win overseas votes for an
expected run for the presidency in August.

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