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Germany, Turkey pledge to thaw ties that coup crackdown froze

January 7, 2018 at 9:45 am

Foreign Affairs Minister of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu (L) and Foreign Affairs Minister of Germany Gabriel Sigmar (R) visit the Kaiserpfalz Imperial Palace in Goslar, Germany on January 06, 2018 [Cem Özdel / Anadolu Agency]

Germany and Turkey’s foreign ministers on Saturday agreed to pull out all the stops to improve ties that have soured due to disputes over Ankara’s post-coup crackdown and the arrests of German citizens in Turkey, but they stressed differences remain.

Meeting in an ornate imperial palace in central Germany, the pair said they were keen to make amends after falling out as Ankara rounded up suspected supporters of a failed 2016 coup, a comedian mocked Turkey’s president and a German-Turkish journalist was detained without charge.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel pointed to historic links between the countries including the role Turkish guest workers played in rebuilding Germany after World War Two, Turkey’s hospitality in taking in German refugees during the Nazi era and the 3 million-strong Turkish community here.

Read: Let’s make up, Turkish foreign minister tells Germany

“We’ve both made it our business to do everything we can to overcome the difficulties there have been in German-Turkish relations and to find more common ground in the future by remembering everything that binds us together,” Gabriel said.

German politicians have been outspoken critics of Turkey’s post-coup crackdown, in which some 50,000 people have been arrested pending trial and 150,000, including teachers, judges and soldiers, have been sacked or suspended from their jobs.

Turkey says the crackdown, targeting alleged supporters of a Muslim network it blames for the coup, is necessary on security grounds. Ankara has criticised Germany’s refusal to hand over asylum seekers it says were involved in the failed putsch.

Adding to the tension, the German government believes seven Germans, of whom four have dual citizenship, are being held in prison in Turkey for political reasons.

Read More: Turkish minister says will work to improve ties with Germany

But in a sign of recovering relations, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the NATO allies believed they could overcome recent escalations in tension through dialogue.

Cavusoglu said Turkey and Germany shared similar views on conflict-hit Middle East countries and they were cooperating on humanitarian issues like migration.

During a working lunch on Saturday, he and Gabriel would discuss steps they can take together in future, Cavusoglu said.