Winston Peters attacked Recep Tayyip Erdogan views and said his speech could put the lives of New Zealand nationals abroad at risk. He said: “Anything of that nature that misrepresents this country – given that the suspect was a non-New Zealand citizen – imperils the future and safety of the New Zealand people and our people abroad and it’s totally unfair. We had a long dialogue on the need for any other country, or Turkey for that matter, to ensure that our country, New Zealand, was not misrepresented.”
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed the visit by Mr Peters.
She said: “Our deputy prime minister will be confronting those comments in Turkey.
“He is going there to set the record straight, face-to-face.”
The Australian Prime Minister has also hit out at Mr Erdogan for his comments.
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Scott Morrison labelled them as “reckless” and “highly offensive”.
He added he is considering “all options” in reviewing ties with Turkey.
Mr Morrison said at a press conference: “Remarks have been made by the Turkish President Erdogan that I consider highly offensive to Australians, and highly reckless in this very sensitive environment.”
Mr Erdogan said any terrorists would be returned “in caskets” if they attempted an attack on Turkey.
He added that the attack was part of an assault on Turkey and Islam.
The Turkish leader warned anti-Muslims Australians, suggesting they would suffer the same fate as soldiers at Gallipoli, a vicious WW1 battle.
Mr Erdogan aired his comments with video clips of the attack while campaigning for local elections.
The blurry footage of the attacker was shown repeatedly on large screens throughout the rally.