Turkey, Germany try to turn new page in name of mutual interests
The atmosphere is positive going into the Turkish president's visit to Berlin, though the path to fully normalized Turkish-German ties remains strewn with pitfalls.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will travel to Berlin this week as the guest of his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier and will also hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, aimed at turning a new page in bilateral ties after a prolonged period of tension.
The visit stands in marked contrast to only a year ago, when Turkey and Germany appeared to be heading for a historic breakup as insults and accusations were being hurled back and forth. A furious Erdogan taunted German officials as “Nazis,” for example, after he and members of his administration were prevented from canvassing expatriate Turks in Germany for the constitutional referendum in April 2017 that made Erdogan Turkey’s first executive president.
Today, all of that seems to have been left in the past. Before leaving for New York for the UN General Assembly meeting, from where he will go on to Berlin, Erdogan said Sept. 23 that Turkey was seeking a new chapter with Germany.
“Our priority agenda on my visit to Germany will be completely leaving behind the period experienced in recent years in our political relations,” Erdogan said. “It will [also] be the steps that can be taken to carry our economic ties further on a mutually beneficial basis.”
