LAST UPDATE: 22.20
The head of Turkish diplomacy, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, argued during the joint press conference with Analena Burbok in Istanbul that Germany has recently lost its impartiality in its mediating role between Turkey, Greece and Cyprus.
“We want Germany to maintain a balanced stance on the issues of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean,” Cavusoglu said, accusing Athens and Nicosia of “propaganda”.
M. Cavusoglu continued by saying that Berlin must listen to both sides without prejudices.
“We do not do propaganda”, was the answer of the German Foreign Minister, who added that “as the largest country in Europe, we are also interested in the borders of the country and the EU, and in Greece I spoke clearly about this issue”.
Subsequently, the Turkish Foreign Minister tried to retract, saying that there might have been a mistake in the translation. “I did not say that Germany is doing propaganda, but that Germany is becoming a victim of Greece’s propaganda,” he said characteristically.
“I don’t know if the translation was wrong, but Germany is not a victim of propaganda,” countered Ms Burbock.
Conflict also over Kavala, human rights and Syria
The German foreign minister also called on Turkey to “respect” the decisions of the Council of Europe on human rights.
“The decision of the European Court of Human Rights regarding Osman Kavala must be implemented,” she insisted, referring to the Turkish philanthropist who has been sentenced to life in prison for acts he denies.
“Although it’s hard to hear, it has to be said,” the German foreign minister said.
“Why is Germany encouraging all countries to exclude Turkey from the Council of Europe,” Cavusoglu responded in a heated tone before listing the countries which, according to him, do not comply with the European human rights body’s rulings: “Greece, France, Norway, Germany”.
“Why don’t you mention it in Greece but only in Turkey? Why do you mention Kavalas? Because you use him,” Cavusoglu continued, again accusing the businessman and publisher of “funding” the large anti-government protests of 2013.
Burbok also warned of a “preemptive strike” in the north Syria.
“A new conflict would only cause new suffering for the population and instability would benefit Daesh,” the German minister insisted, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State jihadist group.
“Turkey has the right to defend itself but it should only attack criminals,” Burbok insisted while acknowledging that “Turkey has been dealing with terrorist attacks by the PKK,” the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, for years.
Ankara has been threatening for two months to launch a military operation to defend its southern border.
Source: Capital
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