The prospect of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan being received with military honors in Berlin has some German politicians up in arms. Others view the possible visit as an opportunity to hold Erdogan to account.
A spokeswoman with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's office confirmed to DW that an invitation had been extended to the Turkish president some time ago, but said that both Ankara and Berlin were still working on fixing a date.
"Planning for the visit is currently in the beginning stages," deputy presidential spokeswoman Esther Uleer said.
Not only the date, but the classification of Erdogan's visit remain up in the air. The trip could take the form of anything from a toned-down working visit to a pomp-and-circumstance-filled state visit — including military honors and a state dinner.
Erdogan 'should stay home'
But some members of Germany's opposition parties feel that any sort of visit would send wrong signals.
Erdogan "is no normal president in a democracy," cautioned Cem Özdemir, an MP with the environmentalist Greens.
The Turkish leader has transformed his country "into a kind of Turkmenistan or Azerbaijan with censorship, despotism, nepotism and autocracy" and should be received as such during any visit to Germany, Özdemir told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
He urged the German government "to make it clear that any attempt to build Turkish nationalist-fundamentalist parallel structures here will not be tolerated."
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.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Schmidt
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The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) called for the visit to not take place at all, with AfD parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel saying Erdogan "should stay home."
"The government must certainly not allow Erdogan to hold another propaganda show in Berlin," Weidel wrote in a post on Facebook, adding that such an event would attempt to "incite citizens with Turkish backgrounds and residents of our country against Germany and German society."
German government open to talks
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government said on Monday that it was "of course" open to discussions with Erdogan and emphasized Turkey's role as a "close and important partner."
Politicians within Germany's governing coalition also viewed the state visit more positively, although they were not without their caveats.
"I've never been convinced by the argument that it would be better not to talk at all with difficult partners," Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, a member of the Social Democrats (SPD), told the daily Bild.
Members of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), viewed the visit as an opportunity to address outstanding issues.
"We've already rolled out the red carpet for many other heads of state with blood on their hands. If we want to speak only with democratic leaders, then Germany will soon be very alone on the world stage," Elmar Brok, a CDU politician and the chair of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, told Bild.
Jürgen Hardt, the foreign policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, said he "welcomed" the news of Erdogan's possible visit. Still, he noted that it was important for Berlin to address outstanding issues with Germany, such as the detention of German citizens in Turkey.
"During this visit, [...] the German government should not miss any opportunity to also discuss critical issues between Germany and Turkey," Hardt said in a statement.
Erdogan on Özil affair: 'Such racist treatment is unacceptable'
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Ongoing tensions
Erdogan and his government have been heavily criticized by Germany and other Western allies over the state of civil rights in Turkey and its leaders' growing authoritarianism.
In the wake of a failed 2016 coup, the Turkish government carried out a sweeping crackdown that has seen numerous Erdogan critics detained — including German nationals.
Although Die Welt correspondent Deniz Yücel and human rights activist Peter Steudtner have since been released, several German nationals are still being held in detention.
Erdogan has also been vocal in his criticism of Germany, particularly after Berlin banned Turkish politicians from campaigning in Germany during a constitutional referendum last year. Erdogan also backed football star Mesut Özil's recent decision to leave the German national team over accusations of racism. Özil had also sparked controversy for meeting with Erdogan in May in London.
Despite tensions, the NATO allies are also dependent on one another.
Germany and other European Union countries have relied on Turkey to slow the number of refugee and migrant arrivals in the bloc as part of a 2015 deal. Turkey, on the other hand, is looking to boost its fragile economy amid high inflation.
Should the visit come to fruition, it would be Erdogan's first official trip to Germany since 2014, as well as his first since he assumed office as president.
Charting Turkey's slide towards authoritarianism
Turkey's shift towards authoritarianism has been over 10 years in the making. However, in the aftermath of the failed 2016 military coup, President Erdogan and the AKP have accelerated their consolidation of power.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O.Weiken
July 2007: Abdullah Gul becomes Turkey's first Islamist president
After years of free market reforms, Turkey's transition slowly begins to reverse. Islamist Abdullah Gul's candidacy as president in 2007 marks a clear shift away from secularist policies, and strains relations between the ruling AKP and the military. However, with broad support from both conservative Muslims and liberals, the AKP wins the parliamentary elections and Gul is elected president.
Image: A.Kisbenede/AFP/GettyImages
September 2010: Constitutional reforms take hold
Then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan tables a constitutional reform increasing parliamentary control of the judiciary and army, effectively allowing the government to pick judges and senior military officials. The amendment, which is combined with measures also aimed at protecting child rights and the strengthening of the right to appeal, passed by a wide margin in a public referendum.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Tumer
May 2013: Dissent erupts in Gezi Park
Pent-up anger directed by young people at Erdogan, Gul and the Islamist-rooted AKP hits a boiling point in May 2013. The violent police breakup of a small sit-in aimed at protecting Istanbul's Gezi Park spurs one of the fiercest anti-government protests in years. Eleven people are killed and more than 8,000 injured, before the demonstrations eventually peter out a month later.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca
July 2015: Turkey relaunches crackdown against Kurds
A fragile ceasefire deal between the Turkish government and the Kurdish rebel PKK group breaks under the weight of tensions aggravated by the war in Syria. Military forces resume operations in the mostly Kurdish southeast of Turkey. In early 2016, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) — a breakaway PKK faction — claim responsibility for two bombings in Ankara, each killing 38 people.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/M. Coban
July 2016: Military coup attempt falls short
A military coup attempt against the government shakes Turkey to its core and briefly turns the country into a war zone. Some 260 civilians die in overnight clashes with the army across five major cities. Erdogan, however, rallies supporters and the following morning rebel soldiers are ambushed by thousands of civilians on the Bosporus Bridge. The troops eventually drop their guns and surrender.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T.Bozoglu
July 2016: President Erdogan enacts a state of emergency
In the aftermath of the failed coup, Erdogan announces a state of emergency, leading to arrests of tens of thousands of suspected coup sympathizers and political opponents. Among those detained are military and judiciary officials and elected representatives from the pro-Kurdish HDP party. The purge is later expanded to include civil servants, university officials and teachers.
Image: Reuters/U. Bektas
2016: Crackdown on the press
As part of Erdogan's crackdown against supposed "terrorist sympathizers," Turkey becomes one of the world's leading jailers of journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders. The government shuts down around 110 media outlets in the year following the coup and imprisons more than 100 journalists, including German-Turkish correspondent Deniz Yücel.
Image: Getty Images/S.Gallup
March 2017: AKP officials try to stoke support in Western Europe
With a referendum on expanding Erdogan's presidential powers set for April 2016, AKP officials look to galvanize support among Turks living in Europe, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands. However, the Netherlands forbids Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu from landing in the country, while Germany opts to cancel two rallies. Erdogan accuses both countries of Nazi-style repression.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/AA/S.Z. Fazlioglu
April 2017: Erdogan clinches referendum vote
Erdogan narrowly wins the referendum vote expanding his power. As a result, Turkey's parliamentary system is abolished in favor of a strong executive presidency. Erdogan is also allowed to remain in power potentially until 2029. However, international election monitors claim that opposition voices were muzzled and that media coverage was dominated by figures from the "yes" campaign.
Image: Reuters/M. Sezer
June 2018: Election wins secure Erdogan's power
Erdogan secures a new five-year term and sweeping new executive powers after winning landmark elections on June 24. His AKP and their nationalist allies also win a majority in parliament. International observers criticize the vote, saying media coverage and emergency measures gave Erdogan and the AKP an "undue advantage" in the vote.
