Erdogan comes to Germany on November 17
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay a short visit to Germany on November 17. As Deputy Government Spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann announced in Berlin on Friday, a joint dinner is planned with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in the Federal Chancellery. The talks will cover "the entire range of political issues", she said. Before the meeting with Scholz, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will receive Erdogan.
It will be the president's first visit to Germany since 2020, when he took part in the Libya conference organized by then Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU). Scholz had invited the Turkish head of state to Germany following his re-election as president in May of this year. The Chancellor made his inaugural visit to Turkey in March 2022.
The visit is considered sensitive, particularly because of Erdogan's stance on the Gaza war. Following the terrorist attack on Israel that left more than 1,400 people dead, Erdogan described the Islamist Hamas as a "liberation organization". The USA and the EU, which are allied with Turkey in NATO, classify it as a terrorist organization.
As a result of the Gaza war, Erdogan has broken off contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying: "Netanyahu is no longer any kind of interlocutor for us. We have deleted him, we have crossed him out." In the past, the Turkish president had already described Israel as a "terrorist state" due to its Palestinian policy and repeatedly presented himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause.
On the other hand, Turkey is an important partner for the German government. Around three million people of Turkish descent live in Germany, more than anywhere else outside Turkey. There are also close economic ties. German tourists are the second largest group of tourists in Turkey after Russians.
NATO partner Turkey also has an important bridging function for Germany and the EU in the Islamic world. The country also plays a central role in managing immigration to Europe. The talks between Scholz and Erdogan are likely to focus on reviving the EU-Turkey agreement on the accommodation of refugees in Turkey.
However, Erdogan repeatedly clashes with his NATO allies. With regard to the Gaza war, he accused Western countries of hypocrisy and condemned Israel's actions as a "crime against humanity".
The German government has so far refrained from criticizing this. However, individual coalition politicians have spoken out clearly. FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai, for example, said: "Erdogan's constant hate speech against Israel and his solidarity with the terrorist organization Hamas are intolerable. This must have consequences and must not be ignored by the German government."
Relations between Germany and Turkey have often been turbulent in the past. In 2017, the imprisonment of German citizens severely strained relations between Berlin and Ankara. A low point was reached when Erdogan personally attacked then Chancellor Merkel with Nazi comparisons.
During their meeting, Chancellor Scholz and President Erdogan are expected to discuss diplomatic approaches to resolve ongoing conflicts, particularly focusing on the revival of the EU-Turkey refugee agreement. Despite Turkey's significant role as a bridge between Germany and the Islamic world, its stance on the Gaza war and support for Hamas as a "liberation organization" has strained relations with allies, such as the USA and EU, who classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Source: www.dpa.com
