Relations between Germany and Turkey have been strained for months. But tensions appear to be easing. Now Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apparently would even like to invite the German chancellor to his country.
Image: picture-alliance/POP-EYE/B. Kriemann
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"I respect Mrs. Merkel very much. For the last five, six years, she has been the only real leader in Europe," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to German reporters in his hometown of Antalya.
Wait. Didn't Germany and Turkey actually spent most of last year immensely disliking each other? President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeatedly accused the German government of behaving like "Nazis." At the same time, Germany openly criticized Turkey's increasingly autocratic government, human rights violations and arrests of journalists.
'Maintain the dialogue'
When a German government with Angela Merkel at the helm is finally formed, Erdogan would like to invite the chancellor to Turkey, or Erdogan could also visit Germany, said the Turkish foreign minister, adding that Erdogan has spoken to Merkel and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier several times recently.
"We should maintain the dialogue now," said Cavusoglu.
Just over year ago, Merkel visited Turkey before the referendum that granted Erdogan sweeping power but was heavily criticized in Europe. At the time, Merkel urged Turkey to respect human rights. "Opposition is part of a democracy," she warned. At the G20 summit last summer in Hamburg, Merkel and Erdogan were visibly cold to each other.
German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel has been imprisoned in Turkey for nearly a yearImage: picture-alliance/Eventpress/Stauffenberg
Troubled German-Turkish relations
Last year, Erdogan and many other members of the Turkish government were seeking to gain referendum votes from over a million Turks living in Germany. Many Germans and German politicians openly expressed their opposition to Turkish campaign rallies taking place in Germany, sparking a diplomatic row between the two countries.
At the same time, German leaders expressed concern about the random arrests of Germans inside Turkey. Peter Steudtner, a German human rights activist arrested in July 2017, was unexpectedly released in October after former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder traveled to Turkey to negotiate his release. Steudtner is still on trial for supporting terrorists but he is now back in Germany. Mesale Tolu, the translator and journalist who was arrested in April 2017, was released just before Christmas, but she is not allowed to leave Turkey.
Yücel case the real test
Perhaps the greatest diplomatic sticking point between Germany and Turkey is the detainment of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel. Although no formal charges have been brought against him, he has been behind bars for almost a year. Cavusoglu denied German claims that Yücel is being held for political reasons. "I assure you, Deniz Yücel is not a politically motivated case," he said. "What do I have to gain from detaining Yücel? What will I get in return? Nothing. It is poisoning our relations? Yes. Do I like that? No. But I cannot intervene in the justice system just to get rid of this problem."
Leaders in Germany are skeptical of Cavusoglu's claim. Even high-ranking politicians like German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel openly refer to Yücel as a hostage of the Turkish president.
Gabriel's friendly banter with Cavosoglu caused a stir in GermanyImage: Imago/photothek/F. Gaertner
Getting too friendly?
Yet it was also Gabriel who invited Cavusoglu to his home in Goslar and served him Turkish tea — sparking backlash in the press that he was being too friendly with Turkey's foreign minister. It is considered to be an open secret that skilled diplomacy and economic pressure have helped to ease the deadlock between Berlin and Ankara. Gabriel issued travel warnings for Turkey once again (the number of German tourists in Turkey has declined) and recently stressed that his country would exercise extreme caution in selling military equipment to Turkey as long as Yücel remains in custody.
German-Turkish relations on the whole do indeed appear to be thawing, but no one knows what this will mean for Yücel himself.
Why are German and Turkish relations so strained?
German-Turkish relations have deteriorated since the failed coup against Turkish President Erdogan in 2016 and the crackdown that followed. DW looks at some of the key moments that soured ties between Berlin and Ankara.
Image: picture-alliance/POP-EYE/B. Kriemann
The Böhmermann affair
March 31, 2016: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan filed charges against German comedian and satirist Jan Böhmermann over his "defamatory poem" about the Turkish leader. German prosecutors eventually dropped the charges on October 4, 2016, but the case sparked a diplomatic row between Berlin and Ankara.
German lawmakers pass resolution to recognize 1915 Armenian Genocide
June 2, 2016: The resolution passed almost unanimously. In response, Turkey recalled its ambassador in Berlin and Germany's Turkish community held protests in several German cities. Turkey had repeatedly criticized the use of the term genocide to describe the Ottoman-era Armenian killings, arguing that the number of deaths had been inflated, and that Turkish Muslims also perished in the violence.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Gallup
Tensions following failed coup in Turkey
July 15, 2016: A faction of the Turkish military tried to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but ultimately failed. Ankara accused Berlin of not taking a clear stand against the coup attempt or not doing anything about exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen's organization, who Erdogan blames for orchestrating the failed coup.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Suna
Germany criticizes post-coup purge
Immediately following the attempted coup, Turkish authorities purged the army and judiciary, detaining thousands of people. The purge expanded to include civil servants, university officials and teachers. German politicians criticize the detentions. Turkish diplomats, academics and military members fled the country and applied for asylum in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Suna
Kurdish rallies in Cologne
Erdogan's post-coup crackdown has also been condemned by Kurdish protesters at several mass demonstrations in the west German city of Cologne. Often the rallies have called for the release of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey considers to be a terror group. Ankara has accused Berlin of not doing enough to stop PKK activities.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Meissner
Arrest of German citizens in Turkey
February 14, 2017: Deniz Yücel, a correspondent for the "Welt" newspaper, was taken into custody in Turkey. Other German nationals, including journalist Mesale Tolu and human rights activist Peter Steudtner were detained in Turkey for what Berlin dubbed "political reasons." Turkey accused them of supporting terrorist organizations. All three have since been released pending trial.
March 2017: A number of German localities blocked Turkish ministers from holding rallies in their districts ahead of an April referendum in Turkey to enhance President Erdogan's powers. The Turkish leader then accused Germany of using "Nazi tactics" against Turkish citizens in Germany and visiting Turkish lawmakers. German leaders were not amused by the jibe, saying Erdogan had gone too far.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg
Spying allegations
March 30, 2017: Germany accused Turkey of spying on hundreds of suspected Gulen supporters as well as over 200 associations and schools linked to the Gulen movement in Germany. Turkish asylum-seekers have since accused officials working in Germany's immigration authority (BAMF) of passing on their information to media outlets with ties to the Turkish government.
Image: Imago/Chromeorange/M. Schroeder
Erdogan urges German-Turks not to vote for 'enemies of Turkey'
August 18, 2017: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed three of Germany's main political parties as "enemies of Turkey" and told Turks living in Germany not to vote for them in September's general election. He singled out Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), the Social Democrats (SPD), and the Greens. Merkel said Erdogan was "meddling" in Germany's election.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/AA/M. Ali Ozcan
Merkel says Turkey should not become EU member
September 4, 2017: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during an election debate that she didn't think Turkey should become a member of the European Union and said she would speak with other EU leaders about ending Ankara's accession talks. In October, she backed a move to cut Turkey's pre-accession EU funds.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Turkey's military offensive in Afrin
January 20, 2018: The Turkish military and their Syrian rebel allies launched "Operation Olive Branch" against the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin in northern Syria. The move was criticized by German politicians and prompted large protests by Kurdish communities in Germany.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/O. Kose
Journalist Deniz Yücel released from prison
February 16, 2018: Turkey ordered the release of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel after he'd been held for over a year without charge. According to Turkish state media, Yücel was released on bail from pre-trial detention. Prosecutors asked for an 18-year jail sentence for Yücel on charges of "terror propaganda" and incitement.
Image: picture-alliance/Eventpress/Stauffenberg
Özil quits
July 2018: German footballer Mesut Özil quit the national team following the fallout from his meeting with the Turkish president. Özil said he was being made a scapegoat for Germany's forgettable performance at the FIFA World Cup in Moscow because of his Turkish heritage. Erdogan praised Özil's decision and slammed the "racist" mistreatment of the footballer.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Presidential Press Service
Travel ban lifted
August 2018: A Turkish court removed the travel ban on German journalist Mesale Tolu, who was arrested last year on terrorism-related charges. But the trial against Tolu, who has since returned to Germany, is set to continue. Her husband, Suat Corlu, who is facing similar charges, has been ordered to remain in Turkey.
