Turkey on the path to make relations stronger with Germany

Berlin, January 5: Turkey expressed pleasure to make relationships with Germany rockier. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called for a fresh start in his country’s rocky relationship with Germany, holding out the prospect of closer economic cooperation, particularly in transport and energy, if ties improved.

“Both sides have an interest in a new start in the bilateral relationship as we live in a time full of challenges,” Cavusoglu said. “It is not the time for bullhorn diplomacy.”

Cavusoglu said Germany needed to develop a more “empathetic” tone in its dealings with Turkey. Berlin did not seem to fully understand the “trauma” caused by a failed coup against President Tayyip Erdogan in 2016.

Cavusoglu said an improved relationship could mean that the two countries could work more closely in areas including security and trade.

He said trade between Germany and Turkey amounted to 174 billion euros ($209.91 billion)in the last five years, with major opportunities in the coming decade from big infrastructure projects, in particular in transport and renewable energy.

He stressed the importance of Turkey’s role in stemming a wave of migrants to Germany under a deal with the European Union in 2016 and said he hoped that the EU would live up to its commitments to make it easier for Turks to get visas in return.