Tension between Germany and Turkey is continuing to escalate over the cancellation of a series of Turkish political rallies in Germany. Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has accused Germany of aiding and harbouring terror in Turkey. He said a German-Turkish journalist detained by Turkey was a German agent and a member of the outlawed Kurdish militant group, the PKK. <br/><br/>Germany's Foreign Ministry termed the claims as absurd and said German government had nothing to do with the cancellations, and Ankara should refrain from pouring oil on the fire. Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, she respected local authorities' decisions to cancel rallies in which Turkey's justice and economy ministers had been scheduled to address. <br/><br/>Turkey is trying to woo ethnic Turkish voters ahead of a key referendum. About 1.4 million Turks living in Germany are eligible to vote in the April referendum, in which President Erdogan aims to win backing for sweeping new powers.