German foreign minister slams Turkish counterpart's comments on Israel

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has sided with Israel in its diplomatic spat with Turkey, slamming recent comments made by his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, as "utterly inappropriate."

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Thursday posted a video on X of an interview given by Fidan to the CNN Türk broadcaster with an English translation. 

According to the translation, Fidan said Israel's politics and mindset had "become a burden that humanity can no longer bear."

Fidan also described Israel as one of "humanity's common problems" and called for international pressure on the country.

In his post on X, Saar described the remarks as "nauseating" and said they "constitute clear incitement to genocide."

In comments released on Sunday, Wadephul told Germany's Bild tabloid that "Israel faces an ongoing threat from the region and has the right and duty to protect its population."

He said he would travel to Israel to meet Saar before the NATO summit in Turkey, which begins on Tuesday.

Criticism also came from The Left parliamentary group in Germany's lower house, with its foreign policy spokeswoman, Cansu Özdemir, describing Fidan's remarks as "dehumanizing and extremely dangerous."

Fidan's remarks were prompted by Israel's formal recognition of the Armenian genocide under the Ottoman Empire, which is rejected by the empire's successor state Turkey.

The Turkish government described Israel's recognition as a political act of retaliation and a diversionary tactic. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Israel was attempting to "cover up its own crimes" and to smear Turkey with slander, according to the state news agency Anadolu.