Amid heightened tensions between the two nations due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, an official announced on Friday that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is schedule to visit Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan next week in Berlin.
German Turkish leaders to meet: At the customary press briefing in Berlin on Friday evening, a government spokesperson stated that the leaders’ discussions in the German capital will “strongly focus on developments in the Middle East.”
Turkey’s relations with the European Union have been strained for a while due to criticism of Ankara’s democratic norms. Additional tension has arisen because of Erdogan’s position on the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
The Turkish leader has presented Hamas as “liberators” or “mujahideen” defending their homeland.
He summoned Turkiye’s envoy to Tel Aviv and charged Israel with war crimes in Gaza.
Israel has launched in ground forces and repeatedly blasted the Gaza Strip, vowing to destroy Hamas. More than 10,800 Palestinians, many of them children, have died in Gaza, the health ministry of the Palestinian territory reports.
Although it may seem far off, Turkey is officially a candidate for eventual EU membership, and Erdogan’s stance, which diverges significantly from the bloc’s, has raised concerns.
Furthermore, it represents a diametrically opposed viewpoint to that of Berlin, the most populated member of the EU.
Scholz was the first head of state to visit Israel in response to the assaults on October 7 and has committed to support the country.
Berlin outlawed Hamas operations and groups associated with the group this week, designating it as a “terrorist organisation that aims to destroy the state of Israel” according to Germany’s interior minister.
German-Turkish Relations: Talks on Hamas, Diaspora Support, and NATO Alliance
Spokesman Christiane Hoffmann confirmed that there would probably be talks about Hamas at the briefing on Friday, pointing out that the German government “has a very different stance and classification regarding Hamas than the Turkish president.”
The largest Turkish diaspora abroad, found in Germany, strongly supported Erdogan when he won reelection in May.
Hoffmann asked if Scholz would pressure Erdogan to use his influence to encourage German communities to act responsibly, considering that certain pro-Palestinian protests in the country had become violent.
She refused to comment further on the subject.
The NATO military alliance, of which both Germany and Turkey are members, will also be a topic of discussion, along with immigration.
Europe is currently dealing with a new wave of immigration.
