Germany on Wednesday sought to end a bad-tempered row with Turkey, stressing their long-standing friendship and urging Ankara to work towards restoring frayed ties.

NATO allies Ankara and Berlin have been locked in a new dispute over the past week after several local authorities in Germany blocked rallies by Turkish ministers.

The row is the latest in a long list of problems that have plagued relations and comes just after Ankara's arrest of a journalist for German daily Die Welt that sparked consternation in Berlin.

On Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the stakes when he told a rally in Istanbul that the blocking of public appearances by his ministers was "not different from the Nazi practices of the past".

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, after hosting his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu for talks, said he had "made clear that comparisons between the Nazi era and the cancellation of rallies or the rule of law in Germany are unacceptable".

"Both sides have a responsibility to simply not cross certain red lines, and comparisons to Nazi Germany are one of them," said Gabriel.

More at News Yahoo.