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Newspaper Yeni Sz, closely aligned to the government, made the outlandish claim on the front page of its daily newspaper.

Carrying the provocative headline "Turkey can occupy Europe within 3 days, the move is the latest in a political spat between Ankara and Berlin.

Turkey has been vying to join the EU for more than a decade, with official negotiants to become a member dragging into their 12th year.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attempted to use the migrant crisis as a bargaining chip, striking a deal with Brussels over the crisis in exchange for political sweeteners, which included kick-starting their membership bid.

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But relations have turned sour with the EU, in particular Germany, and the two countries have been engaged in a public spat over the past few months.

The papers absurd claims appear to be a no more than a childish dig at Berlin, as it is a feat unlikely to be achieved.

Despite the outlandish statement, the paper attempts to back up its declaration by building their theory on a thesis of the American political scientist George Friedman, founder of the geopolitics institute Stratfor.

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The paper said: "Friedman said the Turks could defeat Germany in one afternoon and France in one hour, if they have the courage to fight.

If you believe the international research institute Gallup, that asked people if they would fight for their country, then the Europeans have already taken out the white flags in the event of a war.

"Germany is abandoned by its citizens. If we start in the morning, we can have our evening prayer in Bellevue Castle.

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A police officer talks with the soldiers involved in the coup attempt after they surrendered

The Turks could defeat Germany in one afternoon and France in one hour

Yeni Sz

The paper references a two-year-old survey which reportedly gaged how likely citizens were to fight for their country.

They pointed towards the results which said 18 per cent of Germans would fight for their country, compared to 29 per cent of the French and 27 per cent of the British.

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The barmy jingoism is not far off statements Mr Erdogan himself has made.

In April he described Europe as a "centre of national socialism.

That same month he called the EU a continent that is rotting in every which way.

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And he also made reference to going to war with the EU, saying in another interview: "If you continue to behave like this, not a single European will be able to securely take a step on a road anywhere in the world by tomorrow.

The bitter row between Germany and Turkey has seen relations steadily deteriorate.

Recently Berlin issued new travel warnings for tourists visiting the country, and foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said he could no longer guarantee investment in Turkey following accusations made by Mr Erdogan.

The president accused German companies of colluding with the man he views as his political enemy - and who he suspects was behind the failed coup last year - Fethullah Glen.

And in a painful move for Ankara, Mr Gabriel added he would discuss with other EU leaders the prospect of reviewing pre-accession funds being offered.

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'Germany in three days and France in one hour' Shock threat to EU from Erdogan backers - Express.co.uk