Ahead of Turkish President Erdogan's trip to Germany in September, the SPD's Andrea Nahles has said German aid is a possibility. It comes as tensions between the US and Turkey rise over the house arrest of a US pastor.
Image: Reuters/H. Hanschke
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The head of Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD), Andrea Nahles, has said there could be circumstances in which Germany would provide financial assistance to Turkey during its economic crisis.
"A situation might arise where Germany needs to help Turkey, regardless of political tensions with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan," Nahles said in an interview published in German Funke media group newspapers on Sunday.
"Turkey is a NATO partner who we cannot ignore. It is in everyone's interest that Turkey remains economically stable and that the current turbulence involving its currency can be stemmed," Nahles said
Since the beginning of the year, the Turkish lira has dropped more than 35 percent against the US dollar.
"The federal government must remain in dialogue with Turkey at all levels," she said.
"It is my clear expectation of the chancellor that, of course, critical issues will also be addressed. In particular, this includes the arrest and detention of German nationals in Turkey," she continued.
Nahles' party colleague, the former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, has also voiced an urgent appeal to both Germany and Europe not to isolate Turkey.
"In our own interest, we must do everything to keep Turkey in the West," Gabriel told newspapers from the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
Gabriel warned that Europe, and not the USA, would pay the price if Turkey were destabilized by sanctions imposed by Washington. He said the consequences could be economic disruption and an increase in the number of migrants and refugees coming from the country.
He also prophesized that "nationalistic forces" in Turkey could "reach for the atom bomb, as in Iran and North Korea, to make themselves unassailable."
Possible IMF aid
According to a report from German news magazine Der Spiegel, Germany has urged Turkey to accept an International Monetary Fund aid program.
The issue is said to have been discussed during a phone call between Germany's Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and his Turkish counterpart Berat Albayrak last Thursday, Spiegel reported.
But this could be made difficult due to tensions between Turkey and the US, which have escalated further over American pastor Andrew Brunson, who is under house arrest in Turkey. Brunson faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted of espionage and terror-related charges, but he maintains his innocence.
On Saturday, Erdogan said his country will stand strong against an "attempted economic coup" amid the tensions with the US.
Speaking to thousands of supporters in Ankara, Erdogan said the country was being "threatened by the economy, sanctions, foreign currency, interest rates and inflation."
"We tell them that we see their game and we challenge them," he said.
What is the Andrew Brunson row all about?
A Turkish court has ruled to release US pastor Andrew Brunson, whose detention has strained diplomatic ties between the US and Turkey. Who is Brunson, and why did the Turkish government put him behind bars?
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photo/E. Tazegul
Alleged connection to failed military coup
US pastor Andrew Brunson was first arrested in October 2016, when Turkey was in the immediate throes of a crackdown on suspected instigators of the failed July coup attempt. He is accused of supporting exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen as well as Kurdish militants. Ankara claims Gulen masterminded the coup bid.
Image: picture-alliance/Zaman/AA/B. Ozkan
Espionage charges
Brunson was charged of "committing crimes on behalf of terror groups without being a member" and espionage. The 50-year-old pastor spent two years in jail, facing a prison sentence of up to 35 years if convicted on both counts.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Suna
'No credible evidence'
In July, 2018, Brunson was allowed to leave prison and remain under house arrest, but his request to leave Turkey was denied by authorities. Washington has maintained that there is no credible evidence to support the charges brought against him. "Release Pastor Andrew Brunson now or be prepared to face the consequences," US Vice President Mike Pence warned Turkey.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photo/E. Tazegul
'No one dictates to Turkey'
US President Donald Trump threatened to slap "large sanctions" on Turkey if it refused to free the Christian pastor. Trump took to Twitter to demand that the pastor be freed, writing: "This innocent man of faith should be released immediately!" In a tit-for-tat tweet, Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu responded by saying that, "No one dictates [to] Turkey."
Image: Reuters/K. Lemarque
US sanctions
In early August the White House announced it was imposing sanctions on two top members of the Turkish government – Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul (above right) and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu – for their roles in Brunson's detention. President Erdogan has said that he will not be swayed by sanctions.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/S. Yordamovic/A. Ozler
'Constructive' dialogue
But signs of a diplomatic thaw began to appear after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Turkey's Cavusoglu met in Singapore on the sidelines of a regional summit on August 3. "They [Pompeo and Cavusoglu] spoke about a number of issues and had a constructive conversation," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/F. Aktas
Found guilty, but set free
Eventually, a court in Turkey's Aliaga found Brunson guilty on terror charges and sentenced him to over three years in prison. At the same time, however, the court said he would not serve the term due to the time he had already spent behind bars. The preacher was allowed to leave the country.
Image: Reuters/Depo Photos
Shaky US-Turkey ties
The Brunson row is the latest in a series of diplomatic and military disputes between the two NATO allies. The US uses bases in Turkey for its military operations across the Middle East, but the two countries have sparred over numerous issues, including Washington's support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, whom Ankara sees as a threat to its political stability.
