Asked yesterday Tuesday whether during the visit of its federal president Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Turkey Ankara’s intention to buy Eurofighter fighter jets for its air force will be discussed, the minister Yasar Guler chose to give an ironic response.
“The man is cutting doner, we will ask him after he has finished his work with the doner. The developments regarding these (s.s.: the armament programs) are continuing,” said the minister.
THE Frank-Walter Steinmeier began his visit to Turkey with the first stop in Istanbul, where he met with the opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
The defense minister’s comment apparently referred to the fact that, to show his personal ties with the Turks, the German president took along on the trip a Turkish immigrant who owns a kebab restaurant in Berlin – what political analysts called “donor diplomacy”.
He also said of the Turkish workers who immigrated to Germany that “they built our country with us, they made our country strong, they are at the heart of our society.”
The German president’s meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled for today in Ankara.
Asked about the US purchase of F-16s, Yasar Guler said: “We are talking. Soon you will know where we stand with everything. We are processing it.”
Tags: Ironic comment Turkeys defense minister German president man cuts doner
