German FM says he agrees with Turkish PM on need to improve ties

BERLIN - Reuters

Germany and Turkey want to improve their ties, Germany’s foreign minister said after meeting the Turkish prime minister on May 11, seeking to reverse a deterioration in relations.

Speaking after meeting Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım in London, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said the countries needed to do more to improve relations.

“We above all spoke about how we can get back to reasonable relations,” Gabriel told German broadcaster ZDF.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said this month that Europe should not push Turkey away despite worries about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s increasing grip on power, seeming to play down talk that its aspirations to join the European Union were over. 

Germany’s emphasis on good ties with Turkey comes despite its frustration earlier this year about Erdoğan repeatedly accusing it of applying “Nazi methods” by banning rallies aimed at drumming up support among Turks in Germany for the April 16 referendum on constitutional amendments, including the shift to an executive presidency.