German FM Steimeier: "I think the move to close down the AKP will be quickly rebuffed"

Responding to the new indictment seeking closure of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier yesterday said the AKP wants to implement the principles of democracy and the rule of law under the leadership of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "I trust in the independence of the Turkish Constitutional Court, and I believe that this move will be quickly rebuffed," he said in a written statement. In other foreign reactions, European Council Secretary-General Terry Davis said that he was concerned about the closure case. In a written statement, Davis said that democracies solve political disputes through elections, and that government policies and political views should be open for debate in the media and Parliament.