President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday departed for Germany's capital Berlin on a daylong visit to discuss bilateral relations as well as the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which caused significant differences in stances between the two countries.
Erdoğan will have one-on-one and inter-delegation meetings with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
He will also meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to discuss the turmoil in the Middle East and other international issues.
Both leaders will also hold a joint press conference.
The two countries have opposing views on Israel's war in Gaza and conflicting attitudes toward Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine, but when Germany and Türkiye’s leaders meet in Berlin they have powerful economic and electoral incentives to talk. Erdoğan has strongly criticized the West’s stance and silence regarding the continued attacks on civilians in Gaza.
Germany, on the other hand, has expressed strong solidarity with Israel, while urging a focus on limiting the impact of the war on Gaza's civilians.
Despite both sides' efforts, Gaza has already had an impact: Erdoğan was originally due to stay another day, which would have allowed him and Scholz to take in Saturday's soccer friendly between the two countries.
Erdoğan's first visit to Germany since 2020 comes ahead of municipal elections at which he hopes to win back the cities of Ankara and Istanbul. The prospect of better access to the European Union market and visa liberalization would be a gift to voters buffeted by high inflation and economic woes.
Türkiye’s request to buy 40 Eurofighter Typhoon warplanes is also expected to be on the agenda.
For Scholz, heading a fractious three-way coalition that is dealing with a court ruling that blew a 60-billion-euro ($65.19-billion) hole in his budget and rowing over the economy and rising immigration, Ankara's role in stemming migration to the EU makes it an indispensable partner.
Police have locked down large parts of central Berlin and banned all protests in the area. Initial planning for Erdogan's visit started in the summer, before the Gaza conflict started.
The visit also comes a day after the Turkish Parliament's foreign affairs commission delayed a vote on Sweden's NATO membership bid, putting off enlarging the Western alliance after an 18-month wait in which Ankara demanded concessions from Stockholm's support of terrorist groups.
The EU's 2016 deal in which it paid Türkiye to host refugees in return for a managed resettlement program did much to stem record flows to the bloc, but recriminations between Greece and Türkiye have put it under strain, and rising numbers of migrants are fueling the far-right across Europe. Furthermore, the deal promised to facilitate visa-free travel for Turkish citizens in the EU, as well as the updating of the customs union. However, the EU has not progressed on these promises.
Erdoğan, who recently described Germany to reporters as "Europe's most powerful country," may hope to win Scholz's backing to revive stalled talks on modernizing the customs union with the EU – although major changes will not come until long after elections in March.
