Government: Erdogan's visit will be challenging
The German government is sticking to its plans for a visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan despite his anti-Israeli stance. Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said at the Federal Press Conference in Berlin that the previous plans remain in place. "We always have difficult partners with whom we have to deal." The German position towards Israel is rock solid. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) will also "make this very clear" in talks with the Turkish President.
Erdogan is coming to Berlin this Friday. In addition to the Chancellor, he will meet with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. After the terrorist attack on Israel with around 1200 dead, Erdogan called the Islamist Hamas "a liberation organization". In his own words, he broke off contact with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In view of Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip, Erdogan spoke of "fascism".
Turkey is an important factor in a whole range of issues, said Hebestreit. The aim was to make progress on these issues. Under the current circumstances, the visit would also be "challenging".
Source: www.dpa.com
