Turkish President Erdoğan plans state visit to Germany: Report

BERLIN

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are seen in this file photo at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7, 2017.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will pay a state visit to Germany, probably around late September, German newspaper Bild reported on July 28 citing government sources in Berlin and Ankara.

It would be Erdoğan's first official visit to Germany since 2014, and his first since taking over the Turkish presidency, the mass circulation daily said.

Plans for the visit reflect efforts to rebuild relations between Germany and Turkey after ties soured in a series of disputes over Turkey's crackdown after a failed coup in 2016 and its detention of German citizens and journalists.

A state visit includes a reception by the German president with military honours and a formal state banquet.

No immediate comment was available from the German or Turkish governments.

Former German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel in January said he had agreed with his counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, to do everything possible to improve ties between the NATO allies and trading partners.

German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel, who works for the publisher of Bild, was released in February after being held for a year on alleged security offenses.

His release removed a key irritant in ties between the two allies, but German officials remain deeply concerned about Turkey's deteriorating record on human rights and freedoms.

Another German national was arrested in southeastern Turkey this week accused of spreading propaganda for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the state-run Anadolu Agency said on July 25.