President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's first official trip to Germany as Turkey's head of state put the focus on the two countries' determination to surmount issues that divide them and initiate a new era of cooperation for mutual benefit, especially concerning bilateral economic, diplomatic and cultural ties.
The joint press conference of Erdoğan and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday afternoon featured a candid airing of matters that have proven detrimental to bilateral ties, together with the intention to leave them in the past and cooperate on issues of consequence.
At the press conference, which came after an official welcoming ceremony by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier with military honors earlier in the day, Erdoğan reiterated that Turkey was in favor of further developing bilateral relations between Ankara and Berlin.
"We are in favor of protecting the momentum we have reached in bilateral relations with recent reciprocal high-level visits and further strengthening them. We agreed in our meeting [with Merkel] to relaunch cooperative mechanisms that have been idling for some time," Erdoğan said.
He recalled the recent visit by German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass to Ankara and said another visit by German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier will also take place in October.
The president said a number of important bilateral issues were discussed in Friday's meeting and added that bilateral political, military, economic, trade, cultural and tourism matters will be further discussed on Saturday morning. Erdoğan is also expected to inaugurate a recently built mosque in Cologne, run by the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DİTİB).
"We would like to increase our cooperation with Turkey in the fight against terrorism," Merkel also said. She added that both countries have agreed to liven the dialogue between their interior ministers, similar to that of their foreign ministers. Merkel said Germany was in favor of a stable Turkey.
Bilateral relations between the two countries have long been damaged due to disagreements over the activities of the PKK and members of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). Despite the PKK being listed as a terrorist group by the EU, the activities of its members have been largely tolerated by German authorities, which have allowed the group to continue its activities in the country and escalate them to the level of violent attacks against Turkish establishments and the Turkish community. Ankara also criticized Berlin for not taking action against members and the activities of FETÖ, which carried out the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, within German borders. During the FETÖ coup attempt, 250 people were killed and more than 2,200 were injured.
CONCRETE ACTION AGAINST PKK, FETÖ NEEDED
Erdoğan said Turkey's expectation of concrete action against the PKK and FETÖ were communicated during the meeting with Merkel.
Despite being recognized as a terrorist group by the EU, PKK followers have been able to carry out demonstrations freely in Germany. The lack of deterrent measures against the group's followers has angered Ankara. Since the July 15 coup attempt, Ankara has also criticized Berlin for not taking measures against FETÖ activities in the country, despite the provided evidence on the members' involvement in group's activities and also not meeting demands of extradition.
Merkel said Germany acknowledges Turkey's concerns regarding FETÖ, however, added that Berlin needs more concrete evidence of the links.
Erdoğan said several thousand files related to PKK-affiliated figures were given to German authorities and their extradition was requested. He added that the presence of hundreds of FETÖ members in Germany was also known.
"With the joint efforts of Turkish and German intelligence and also our ministers, with trust built between us, it will be easier to extradite those who are caught. This should not be a difficult task for Germany, which recognizes and declares the PKK a terrorist group," Erdoğan said, referring to the extradition agreement between the two countries.
Cooperation in the extradition of criminals is significant for internal order and security for both countries, Erdoğan also said.
ANKARA, BERLIN ON SAME PAGE ON SYRIA
During the joint conference at Merkel's prime ministerial office, both Merkel and Erdoğan said a permanent political solution was needed to put an end to the nearly eight-year war in Syria.
"We would like the cruelty that has caused the death of 1 million people for the past seven years in our neighboring Syria to end. We share a common stance with Germany regarding this," Erdoğan said.The Turkish president highlighted Germany's cooperation with regard to addressing the humanitarian aspect of the Syrian crisis, particularly over the influx of refugees.
"I would like to particularly express our appreciation to Germany's sensitivity on the humanitarian aspect. Turkey and Germany eased the situation during the peak times of the refugee influx by taking responsibility and making compromises," Erdoğan said.
Merkel also said, "Turkey had put forward an effective performance in the refugee crisis."
Turkey has been hosting nearly 4 million refugees escaping the conflict zones in Syria and Iraq. The economic and social burden of hosting the refugees has cost Ankara billions of dollars. Turkish officials have criticized EU countries for not sharing the burden of the humanitarian crisis.
JUDICIAL DECISIONS SHOULD BE RESPECTED
Answering a question regarding the detained German citizens in Turkey, Erdoğan said the bilateral discussions on the issue continue, while reiterating that the judiciary process of each country should be respected.
"First of all, we have to accept this: Neither I have the right to criticize the judicial system nor courts in Germany, nor you have the right to criticize Turkey's legal system because the judiciary systems are independent and the decisions that they make should be respected," Erdoğan said, adding that although there were times that he was not happy with the decisions made in Turkish courts, he always respected the end result.
German politicians have been outspoken critics of Turkey's security crackdown since the coup, which saw thousands of Turkish nationals jailed over links to FETÖ, including around a dozen German nationals in the probe targeting various terror groups.
TURKISH DIASPORA CRUCIAL FOR RELATIONS
The nearly 3.5 million-strong Turkish community in Germany is among the leading factors making the bilateral relations significant, Erdoğan said. He added that Ankara promotes the integration of the Turkish community into German society on the basis of equal participation, while maintaining links with their Turkish roots.
"Benefiting from equal opportunities in social, economic and educational realms will speed up this [integration] process," Erdoğan added.
The Turkish community in Germany has long accused the country of discrimination against them, despite many of them being the second or now third generations to live in the country. Far-right tendencies against the Turkish community have included verbal and violent attacks, such as arson attacks on the Turkish community's establishments.
Most recently, Turkish-German footballer Mesut Özil quit the German national team, citing racial discrimination. Özil, 29, spent nine years on the national team, earned 92 caps and scored a World Cup win. He was attacked after the team was eliminated in the first round of the 2018 World Cup held in Russia. Right before the World Cup, Özil came under fire in Germany for meeting and taking a picture with Erdoğan, along with another German footballer of Turkish descent, İlkay Gündoğan. Some criticism after the footballers' meeting Erdoğan, however, turned into racial abuse.
