German envoy tells EU to improve ties with Turkey

THE European Union must forge stronger links with Turkey to help secure a greater role in the Middle East peace process, a leading German diplomat said at a virtual webinar on Tuesday.

Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference, who served as German ambassador in Washington from 2001 to 2006, told Mohammed Alardhi, executive chairman of Bahrainbased alternative asset manager Investcorp, it was in the EU’s interest to improve relations with Turkey.

“We don’t do it for the sake of Turkey, we do it for ourselves,” said Mr Ischinger, who also served as ambassador in London, former deputy foreign minister for Germany and sits on Investcorp’s international advisory board.

“I cannot imagine how we, the EU, could conduct a meaningful role in the greater Middle East if we tried to do it against our big neighbour Turkey. We need Turkey on our side if we want to play a role in Iran, in Syria and in the other conflict regions of the world. We should not abandon Turkey but keep the door open.”

Mr Ischinger’s comments came as tension between Palestine and Israel escalated this week after Israeli efforts to expel scores of Palestinian families from an East Jerusalem neighbourhood. Mr Ischinger said the conflict was concerning and he regretted “more than anything else” the EU’s failure to play a more active role in the Middle East peace process.

While Mr Ischinger described the EU’s relationship with Turkey as “fairly bad”, that may not be the case in the future, he said.

“In terms of future membership of Turkey in the EU, the perspectives are dark and practically nonexistent but it is very possible for me to imagine that in the next couple of years that could change again,” he said.