Turkish foreign minister to visit Germany to ‘restart’ ties

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will meet with his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, on Saturday, in an attempt to enhance bilateral ties, which strained following a July 2016 abortive coup in Turkey.

Gabriel will be hosting Cavusoglu for talks in his hometown of Goslar in central Germany around 1000 GMT on Saturday, according to press statements.

The German foreign minister invited his Turkish counterpart after the two met in November last year in Cavusoglu’s southern home region of Antalya.

Ties between Turkey and Germany soured over a host of issues after the 2016 failed coup against the government in Ankara, with Berlin critical of Ankara’s post-coup crackdown and the arrest of German citizens in Turkey.

Ankara accused the European country of harboring “terrorist” organizations opposed to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The two countries have also clashed over Germany’s alleged support for Kurdish opponents of the Turkish government and its opposition to a controversial referendum in Turkey in April, which gave Erdogan new sweeping powers. German authorities at the time prevented some pro-Erdogan campaigns in the country, a move that infuriated the Turkish president.

n a commentary for Germany’s Funke Media Group of newspapers on Friday, Cavusoglu said “Both sides have an interest in a new start in the bilateral relationship as we live in a time full of challenges,” and that, “It is not the time for bullhorn diplomacy.”

“As a beginning, we should agree on forming a frame for a new understanding to break the current crisis gyre in our relations,” he wrote.

Underlining Turkey’s desire to mend fences with Germany, Cavusoglu said the improvement of Berlin-Ankara ties would allow the two NATO partners to work more closely in areas such as security and trade.

The Turkish official said the trade volume between the two countries had risen to 209.91 billion dollars in the last five years.

Cavusoglu also called on Germany to adopt a more “empathetic” tone in its dealings with Turkey, arguing that Berlin did not seem to fully understand the “trauma” caused by the botched putsch against President Erdogan, in which some 240 people lost their lives.

SS