The Middle East overshadows Erdogan’s visit to Berlin today

Today, the first visit of the president of Turkey Tayyip Erdogan in Germany from 2020, it will last only a few hours, while it is expected to confirm Berlin’s “doctrine” of a “difficult but necessary partner”. Mr Erdogan’s talks, first with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and then with Chancellor Olaf Solz, they are overshadowed by the stance it has taken on the Middle East crisis, supporting Hamas and its actions.

Tayyip Erdogan is expected to go to Bellevue presidential palace at 16:00 (Greece time), while later he will have a working dinner with Olaf Soltz, at the chancellery. The two leaders will make statements to the press, but according to the latest information, they will not take questions.

In the Berlin strict security measures are taken from the early hours of the morning, with a large part of the city center, the so-called “Government Square” blocked off for the passage or parking of cars and bicycles. Permanent residents and workers will have to show identification, while constant checks are being carried out along the route of the Turkish president’s motorcade. The Berlin police are implementing “security protocol 1”, the strictest possible and will employ more than 1,500 police officers for this purpose. Dozens of pro-Palestinian gatherings, as well as the demonstration planned by the Kurdish community against Tayyip Erdogan, are causing a “headache” for the authorities. It is estimated that the Turkish president will not spend the night in Berlin and will avoid any public appearance outside of the official schedule.

Tomorrow, the friendly football match between the national teams of Germany and Turkey will be held in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. From the side of the chancellery, it has been clarified for days that Olaf Solz will not be in the stands.

Speaking in federal parliament, the chancellor said talks with Tayyip Erdogan would include “discussion of different points of view” and emphasized that “it is very important to have clarity and to make our position absolutely clear”. Earlier, during the press conference he gave with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Mr. Soltz had described as “absurd” Mr. Erdogan’s comments about “fascist” Israel. The federal government has from the beginning expressed its full support for Israel, recognizing its right to self-defense, while it considers Hamas a terrorist organization and has banned its activity in Germany.

However, many more topics will be on the agenda of the talks, from immigration, where Germany wants Turkey’s cooperation with the EU to continue, Sweden’s accession to NATO, which is further delayed due to Turkey’s stance, the modernization of the Customs Union with the EU, up to Ankara’s request for a Eurofighter purchase. The planning of the visit had already started in the summer, long before the new escalation of tension in the Middle East, and on the German side it was finally decided that it would be preferable to carry out normally, despite the criticism it receives both from the opposition and from the Jewish and Kurdish community. According to the Reuters agency, initially it was a two-day visit, in the framework of which the two leaders would watch together the football match of their national teams. Developments in Israel eventually changed the planning.