FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel greets Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the beginning of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 7, 2017. (REUTERS Photo)

ISTANBUL, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday urged Turks living in Germany to vote against Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) in the upcoming German election, local media reported.

"I am telling all my citizens in Germany to never support those parties," Erdogan was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu agency in Istanbul.

"They are all enemies of Turkey," the president added.

Erdogan said that the main reason behind the crises between Ankara and Berlin is the "race for votes" of those parties, according to the report.

The president has also reportedly called on Turkish citizen to vote for the political parties that do not engage in enmity against Turkey.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has recently said the customs union deal with Turkey will not be changed or updated amid the already strained ties between the two NATO allies.

The Customs Union agreement between Turkey and the EU went into force in 1995 and covers all industrial goods but does not include agriculture, services or public procurement.

Relations between the two trading partners have deteriorated when Turkey arrested human right activists including a German in July as part of the crackdown against the supporters of the failed coup attempt last year.