German Chancellor Merkel to visit Turkey

ANKARA

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, AP Photo

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will pay a one-day official visit to Ankara on Feb. 25. Prior to her visit German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich will have discussions in Turkey Feb. 5 to 7, a visit scheduled recently, according to diplomatic sources.

During her third visit to Turkey as the chancellor of Germany since 2006, Turkey-European Union relations, visa liberalization for Turkish nationals, bilateral economic relations and Syria are expected to top the agenda.

The fight against terror, including the elements of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Germany, will also be on the agenda of the German interior minister in light of the recent initiative of the Turkish government for a peace process to end the three-decade-long insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

There are nearly 30,000 PKK sympathizers living in Germany, according to the reports of the country.
A delegation from the Bundestag’s inquiry commission on murders committed in Germany by a neo-Nazi cell will also visit Turkey Feb. 14 to 15.