EU summons Turkey delegate to explain Erdogan 'threat' towards Europeans

The European Union has summoned Turkey's ambassador to explain what appeared to be threatening remarks by its president Recep Tayyip Erdogan towards European citizens.

Erdogan said Europeans would not be able to “walk the streets safely” if tensions continued between the EU and Turkey.

His remarks come after he called the German and Dutch governments nazis and facists for refusing to allow Turkish ministers to address rallies for expatriates designed to bolster support for Erdogan's plans to increase his powers.

A spokeswoman for Federica Mogherini, EU foreign policy chief, said Turkey’s ambassador had “actually asked the Turkish permanent delegate” to a meeting.

The spokeswoman said "we would like to receive an explanation regarding the comment by President Erdogan concerning the safety of the Europeans on the streets in the world".

Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey was “not a country you can pull and push around, not a country whose citizens you can drag on the ground.”

“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.