Hopes rise for improved Turkish-German ties
We can rebuild confidence, says Berlin
ANKARA: There is new hope for an improvement in Turkish-German relations with the release on Thursday of 55-year-old German pilgrim David Britsch, and three days prior of Mesale Tolu, a German journalist of Turkish origin.
Christmas — are an important signal for the new German government,” Magdalena Kirchner, a fellow at the Istanbul Policy Center, told Arab News.
Gabriel’s meetings with Cavusoglu in Turkey, and the involvement of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, were influential in the recent releases, Kirchner said.
“These are positive signals that might restore at least some of the trust that was lost in the turbulent recent months,” she added.
Schroder is known to have warm personal ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Some news reports said Schroder helped broker the release of some German nationals last month, but Ankara denies this.
Alper Ucok, Berlin representative of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD), said the recent releases can be read as signs of goodwill by Turkey to rebuild trust between the two countries.
“Turkey is seeking to restore good relations with Germany in particular, and with Europe in general,” Ucok told Arab News.
“Ankara seems determined to give fresh impetus to the EU front, including the revitalization of the visa-liberalization process and long-sought customs-union modernization,” he said.
“Berlin remains one of the most important actors for Turkish foreign policy, if not the key one.”
Bilateral ties are very resilient and will eventually normalize, as long as both sides address each other’s concerns constructively and with empathy, Ucok added.
“Already some major steps were taken to restore ties, including the high-level bilateral contacts of last month,” he said.
“Presumably, in these conversations some mutual steps toward reconciliation were discussed, and now they’re being implemented.”
While Ucok is optimistic about progress toward normalization of ties in 2018, he said: “There is still a long way to go to return to the status quo ante.”
He added: “Even if the political sphere restarts dialogue and reconciliation, public opinion might take longer than expected to improve.”
According to a recent survey by the Turkish European Foundation for Education and Scientific Studies (TAVAK), 67.2 percent of Turks think reconciliation with Germany is necessary. Germany is Turkey’s primary trade partner and largest export market.