Germany wants mutual relations with Turkey to normalize: FM Heiko Maas

BERLIN – Anadolu Agency

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said they want relations with Turkey to normalize.

Asked about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's “plan” to visit Germany next month in an interview with German daily Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger published on Aug. 4, Maas said: “All the topics that we have been discussing for some time will come to the table again.”

“It is also clear that we want a further normalization of our mutual relationship,” Maas said.

He added: “As a country with 3 million Turkish citizens, we have a vital interest in this.”

Maas said the Turkish military's activities in northwestern Syria's Afrin will also be discussed during Erdoğan's visit.

Maas also said: “So there are still German citizens who are in prison in Turkey. We cannot understand why this is so.”

German media claimed Erdoğan will be visiting Germany at the end of September. It is yet to be confirmed by Turkey.