Turkish journalist Can Dundar is a convicted spy and must be extradited to Turkey, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

His remark came during the joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, AP reported. 

A former chief editor of the Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhurriyet, Can Dundar was convicted in 2016  for disclosing state secrets after his newspaper published photographs of Turkish special services transferring weapons to Syria.

As reported earlier, Erdogan has threatened to cancel the press conference, as a former chief editor of the Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhurriyet, Can Dundar is expected to be present there.

Turkish journalist decided not to attend Erdogan-Merkel press conference after learning that the Turkish leader was considering canceling if he were there

Merkel said it was "no secret" that Turkey and Germany differed in the case of Dundar, and stressed that there was no pressure put on him not to attend the press conference.