Germany: Won't talk about sanctions against Turkey, EU needs joint response

BERLIN: The German government on Monday said it would not get involved in a discussion about potential sanctions against Turkey for its crackdown on the media and political opponents, saying Europe needed to respond in a unified manner to the developments.

"What we need is a clear and unified European position on the developments in Turkey," government spokesman Steffen Seibert told a regular government news conference.

"We have to make it clear to Turkey what impact the repression of the press and the repression of the opposition will have on its relations with the European Union.

That's why it's important to keep the channels of communication open."