Speculations are growing that Friday talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel led to little progress as their disputes over key issues such as extraditing anti-Ankara elements by Berlin and the jailing of journalists by the Turkish government remained unchanged.
In a joint press conference on Friday, Erdogan insisted that Germany extradited anti-Ankara dissidents as well as those accused of involvement in the 2016 military coup attempt against his government. However, Merkel in response criticized Ankara’s jailing of journalists without charges.
The two countries have clashed over variety of issues in past years, including Ankara’s detention of German journalists and Berlin’s legislative resolution claiming that the early-20th century killing of Armenians in Turkey amounted to a state-sponsored genocide, an allegation that Ankara has vehemently denied.
The rhetoric intensified to the point that Erdogan eventually described Germany’s mainstream parties as “enemies of Turkey” and later compared German officials to Nazis, prompting Merkel to condemn the Turkish president’s words.
During the Friday press conference, Erdogan pointedly averted a question on whether he had apologized for his Nazi comment.
Instead, he insisted on his demand for closer cooperation by Berlin against groups that Ankara considers terrorist organizations, including Kurdish militants as well as people with alleged links to a failed 2016 coup in Turkey.
“With the mutual trust we have for each other, I believe the handing over of [suspects] would make our work easier,” said Erdogan.
The Turkish president has on numerous occasions alleged that thousands of PKK-linked Kurdish militants as well as hundreds with ties to the US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen – whom has been accused by Ankara of involvement in the 2016 coup – are living in Germany.
Erdogan has personally accused Gulen – a former political ally who now lives in northeastern US state of Pennsylvania — of orchestrating the coup attempt against him, though the cleric has persistently denied the allegation.
For her part, Merkel said Berlin recognized the PKK as a terrorist organization and would prosecute its members. She also said that German authorities take Erdogan’s information on Gulen seriously “but we need more material what we have is not enough for a similar status to the PKK.”
Merkel further declared that she and Erdogan had discussed bilateral economic cooperation, underlining that “Germany has an interest in an economically stable Turkey.”
“There is, on the one hand, a common strategic interest in good relations, and on Germany’s part too an interest in developing these relations,” she emphasized.
However, the German leader also noted, “But on the other hand, on all questions of how a democratic, free and open society looks, there are also deep misunderstandings – not misunderstandings, differences.”
Erdogan further announced that Ankara would move to meet EU’s criteria for achieving visa liberalization, saying: “Visa liberalization, updating the customs union and reviving accession talks will benefit both Turkey and the EU.”
Meanwhile, much of central Berlin was in lockdown during Erdogan’s visit, reflecting anxiety generated by the presence of a man who is hailed as a hero by many German Turks and reviled as an autocrat by many others.
Protesters waving Turkish flags and carrying posters of Erdogan’s political opponents also marched in some streets of the German capital. Nearly 1,000 demonstrators also gathered on Berlin’s central Potsdamer Platz to protest Erdogan’s state visit.