“Against” Erdogan – Steinmeier on Eurofighters, Palestine and human rights

Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Frank-Walter Steinmeier today at the presidential palace in Ankara, during the third and last day of the German president’s visit to Turkey.

In their meeting, Steinmeier and Erdoğan also discussed Cyprus, as Steinmeier revealed in his statements, while there was also the small “controversy” in front of the cameras about the Eurofighters and Palestine.

This is the first visit of a German president to Turkey after ten years and the first of Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the seven years of his presidential term. Despite the two countries’ close trade relations and the presence of a strong Turkish immigrant community in Germany, there was no shortage of tensions in bilateral relations. The German president had recently criticized Erdogan’s stance towards Israel, having previously expressed concern about democratic rights in Turkey. That’s what he did now.

For his part, Erdogan criticizes Germany for not supporting the deepening of Euro-Turkish relations, blocking the sale of Eurofighter fighters. Even now, he threw away his…

In their statements after the meeting, the German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that he discussed with the Turkish president about the Middle East, Ukraine, but also Cyprus: “I wish that the 100 years of our relations will be even stronger. The world is dynamic, but new confident countries are emerging. Turkey and Germany are not the only partners, but as countries we are indispensable to each other. We should exchange information especially on the dramatic developments in the Middle East. We also discussed Cyprus. The Russian attack on Ukraine was a major issue. There is also help coming from the US. We know that Turkey also supports Ukraine and we will continue this support.”

The German president invited Erdogan to the conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine that will take place in Germany in a few weeks.

“We have a different approach to the Middle East”

In his statements, the German president did not hide the different approach that Berlin and Ankara have to the Middle East, saying that “when it comes to the Middle East, we disagree on many issues.” In contrast to Recep Tayyip Erdogan who clearly sided with the Palestinians, the German president focused on the October 7 attack by Hamas and the hostage drama. “Hamas killed 1,200 women and children in this brutal attack on Israel. He is holding more than 300 hostages. In our opinion, this war would not have happened without the October 7 attack,” he pointedly said.

At the same time, he emphasized that the humanitarian situation in Gaza must be improved and Turkey has an important role in this matter. As he said, “we have to use the relationships in the region. The release of the hostages is a condition for there to be no escalation.”

“Bichtes” for rights in Turkey

There was also no shortage of Steinmeier’s comments on the state of democratic freedoms in Turkey. He argued that Germany and Turkey are going through difficult economic times and need to further develop their relations, but stressed that freedom of the press and the rule of law are very important for relations between Turkey and the EU. “At all stages of this trip, I found that Turkey has a rich civil society. It has courageous, self-aware, hard-working, determined people who support their country and want the good of their country,” Steinmeier said and added: “That’s exactly why I wish Turkey a dynamic, democratic, Europe-oriented development.”

“Stop restrictions on Eurofighters”

“We now want to remove the restrictions on the defense industry from our agenda. We hope that from now on, in the field of defense, Turkey and Germany will no longer talk about obstacles, but about co-production plans” was the Turkish president’s “bite” about the Eurofighter. Berlin does not consent to the sale of Eurofighters to Ankara.

“There should be a lifting of visas for Turks”

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for his part, said that he raised with the German president the issue of lifting visas for Turkish citizens traveling to the EU, as well as the issue of revising Turkey’s Customs Union with the European Union.

The Turkish president attached particular importance to the mutual increase of investments, especially in the defense industry. “We wish to promote our cooperation in the field of defense industry in accordance with our bilateral relations and the spirit of the alliance. I want us to completely remove the restrictions we face in the defense industry. We hope that Turkey and Germany will talk from now on about joint production plans in the field of defense and not about obstacles,” Erdogan said.

The meeting also discussed the problems of Turkish immigrants in Germany, with Erdogan expressing concern about the rise of far-right, Islamophobia and racist groups. “We value and encourage the integration of the Turkish community on the basis of equal participation. We consider the new German citizenship law allowing dual citizenship to be a valuable step in this regard. However, we are increasingly concerned about the rise of xenophobic, Islamophobic, far-right and racist organizations in Germany, as well as in Europe,” the Turkish president said.

“We want cooperation to deal with the Gulenists”

He did not hide his annoyance at the presence of PKK members and “Gülenists” in Germany: “We also mentioned the fight against terrorist organizations, especially the PKK/PYD and FETO (Gülenists), which disturb the peace of our people and attack our delegations. We need more effective cooperation in the fight against these organizations that damage the spirit of our alliance. I emphasized that we expect more support and solidarity from the German authorities in the fight against terrorism.”

Erdogan also made extensive reference to the developments surrounding the war in Gaza, stressing that the number of dead has reached 45,000 and the number of wounded 75,000. “Our German friends must see this picture,” he said.

“Gaza and Palestine have been leveled and everything has been destroyed. Besides, the weapons, ammunition, capabilities and equipment between Israel and Gaza cannot be compared,” Tayyip Erdogan continued and asked the question: “Who does the West side with? He is on Israel’s side. Does Gaza stand a chance against these merciless attacks by Israel’?

He also said that Turkey is making efforts and fighting for the exchange of hostages, while rejecting accusations that, despite his harsh rhetoric, his country continues to trade with Israel. “We no longer have intensive trade relations with Israel, that is over. This was recently announced by my foreign minister,” he said.

In conclusion, Recep Tayyip Erdogan referred to the European Football Championship (Euro 2024), which will be held in June in Germany, wishing the Turkish national team and the other competing countries “good success”.