Integration issues should not be used for political purposes, Turkish President stated.

“There is no longer any immigration from Turkey to Germany,” Abdullah Gul said at a joint news conference with his German counterpart Christian Wulff, Today’s Zaman reported.

“We have Christian and Jewish citizens and I am their President, too. They are our citizens and there can be no discrimination,” he said, emphasizing that “respect for ethnic identity and religious beliefs is an essential element of democracy.”

Germany’s Turkish immigrant community is estimated at around 2.7 million. Only 700,000 of them hold German citizenship while others are hesitant to take on German nationality because they are not allowed to retain their Turkish citizenship should they choose to become German citizens.