Günter Krings, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior of Germany, has warned the Turks living in Germany that following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s hate rhetoric could have bad consequences for them.

Krings called upon the Turks living in Germany to stay away from the policy which Erdoğan has adopted, according to the Rheinische newspaper of Germany.

“He who follows Erdoğan’s hate speech must ask himself whether he wants to stay with us,” said the German interior minister. “Who thinks so, means that he definitely has not integrated into our country and our legal system.”

Joachim Herrmann, Interior Minister of the Free State of Bavaria of Germany, for his part, criticized the statements by the Turkish authorities and the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) of Germany addressed to the German Bundestag members, and in connection with the passing of the resolution that recognizes Armenian Genocide.

“I believe that the discussions, which the Turkish authorities and DITIB are holding, are bizarre at the least,” said Herrmann. “This expresses Erdoğan’s ideology, about which I have always warned. He demands from Germans of Turkish origin to always remain Turks. But he who enters the Bundestag exclusively serves the interests of the Federal Republic of Germany and its permanent population.”

On June 2, the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, formally recognized the Armenian Genocide, with the aforesaid resolution and with only one vote against and one abstention. The resolution also notes that the Bundestag regrets that the German government at the time did nothing to stop this crime against humanity, and therefore the Bundestag also acknowledges the respective historical accountability of Germany.

Eleven Bundestag MPs of Turkish also voted in favor of the resolution. And in this connection, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that the blood of these deputies should be sent for analysis to find out whether they truly are Turks.