Berlin - Germany thanked Turkey on Monday for its help, a day after three German mountaineers were freed at the end of nearly two weeks in the hands of Kurdish rebels.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Jens Ploetner said Turkish officials had played a major role in resolving the crisis, with the interaction between the two nations' officials "characterized by high trust."

The three men were expected in Germany late Monday afternoon after spending the night in a Turkish government guest-house at Agri. Militants in the Kurdish rebel group PKK kidnapped them July 8. They were freed on Sunday.

Stefan Paris, spokesman for the German Interior Ministry, said there was no call to alter Germany's 1993 ban on the PKK as a terrorist movement. He said Germany would continue to prosecute PKK membership. (dpa)