Spy comments proof Germany supports group behind attempted coup: Erdogan's spokesman

Ankara: Doubts expressed by Germany`s spy agency regarding the role of a U.S.-based cleric in last year`s attempted coup in Turkey are proof that Berlin supports the organisation behind the attempt, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan`s spokesman said on Sunday.

Ibrahim Kalin made the comment in a live interview with broadcaster CNN Turk. 

On Saturday, German news magazine Der Spiegel published an interview with the head of the BND foreign intelligence agency, who said the Turkish government had failed to convince it that Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen was responsible for the coup attempt.

"Turkey has tried to convince us of that at every level but so far it has not succeeded," Bruno Kahl was quoted as saying.

Kalin said those comments were proof that Berlin supported the coup. 

Germany and Turkey have been locked in a deepening diplomatic row after Berlin banned some Turkish ministers from speaking to rallies of expatriate Turks ahead of a referendum next month, citing public safety concerns.