Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned Germany’s ambassador to Ankara on Tuesday to condemn statements by a senior German politician who compared President Tayyip Erdogan to a “little sewer rat,” Reuters reported.

• “We strongly condemn the offensive statements made by Wolfgang Kubicki, the vice president of the German Federal Parliament, against our president (Erdogan) in a speech during the election campaign in the state of Lower Saxony,” the ministry said in a statement. This was announced on Tuesday by the spokesman of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Tanju Bilgich.

A representative of Turkish diplomacy also stated that Wolfgang Kubicki is “completely devoid of morals and political responsibility”, and such “indecent statements essentially give an idea of ​​Kubicki’s political and moral level and reveal his vulgarity”.

“The sewer rat is a small, cute, but cunning creature”

Kubicki, contacted by Reuters, confirmed he made the comments at a campaign rally, saying he was trying to draw attention to the growing number of illegal migrants traveling from Turkey on the so-called Balkan route to Germany.

• “The sewer rat is a small, cute, but at the same time intelligent and cunning creature that also appears in children’s stories,” said Kubicki, citing the popular cartoon “Ratatouille” as an example.

Kubicki, an MP from the Free Democratic Party (VDP), one of Germany’s ruling coalition parties, argued that Erdogan made a good move for Turkey when he agreed in 2015 to cap the number of refugees entering the European Union.

• “But at the same time, we must note that the wave of refugees via the Balkan route (from Turkey) is growing again, which is a challenge for Germany’s foreign and domestic policy,” he said.

Turkey is a candidate for EU membership, but talks have long stalled over disagreements over a range of issues, including Ankara’s human rights record, migration and geopolitics.

Insulting the president is a crime in Turkey, where Erdogan and his ruling AK Party have held power for two decades.