The Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Solzacknowledged the de-escalation in relations between Greece and Turkey, during the working dinner he had with the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the chancellery on Friday night, according to federal government sources cited by the German News Agency (dpa).
During the talks, immigration and the role of Turkey, the crisis in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, and bilateral issues were raised.
According to the agency, Mr chancellor asked his interlocutor to increase the refunds of asylum seekers, whose applications have already been rejected in the country. Mr Soltz stressed that there should be a “strong mechanism” for this and it was agreed that a joint working group should be set up, which should present results soon.
On the issue of the Middle East, in which the biggest differences between the two leaders were identified during the press conference that preceded it, the discussion focused on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the release of Hamas hostages and concern over the risk of the conflict spreading to the wider region. The long-term prospects for the Gaza Strip were also discussed and Mr. Scholz “underlined Germany’s position of solidarity with Israel and clearly condemned the terrorist attack by Hamas”. The two politicians however, they agreed that “humanitarian ceasefires” are needed in the short termin order to get supplies to the civilian population and in the long term a two-state solution with peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.
In bilateral matters, Mr. Scholz and Mr. Erdogan agreed on a rapid expansion of imam training in Germany in order to phase out the sending of imams from Turkey. The chancellor also promised the Turkish president German support for the reconstruction of educational institutions after the February earthquake. The two also agreed that “Russia continues to be urgently called upon” to end the invasion of Ukrainewhile Olaf Solz requested the completion of Turkey’s ratification of Sweden’s accession to NATO.
According to a statement from the federal presidency, Frank-Walter Steinmeier also explicitly expressed Germany’s position on the conflict in the Middle East. “The federal president reiterated the condemnation of the Hamas attack on Israel as an act of terrorism and underlined the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization. He drew special attention to Israel’s right to exist and defend itself,” it said. The two presidents “agreed that all efforts must be directed towards helping to free the hostages and prevent the conflict from spreading throughout the region” and “stressed that the civilian population must be protected and the delivery of humanitarian assistance urgently improved in Gaza”. To this end, Germany will significantly intensify its humanitarian aid. “Both Presidents stressed that the only way to achieve lasting peace in the region is to follow the path towards a two-state solution,” the German presidency said in a statement.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier praised the Turkish president’s efforts to broker an agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the export of Ukrainian grain, the same statement said, which also referred to the two countries’ ties through Turkish immigrants in Germany. “After nearly 100 years of diplomatic relations, the two countries enjoy close political and economic ties and, after decades of Turkish immigration to Germany, personal and family ties are now evident. These people have become members of our society,” it says.
Source: News Beast
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