Istanbul/Berlin (dpa) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is travelling to Turkey today to hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A press conference is scheduled afterwards. Topics likely to be discussed include migration, the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and economic policy matters.
As far as migration is concerned, the German government declared recently that Turkey had said it was willing to take practical steps to expedite deportation processes. Turkey is the country from which the third-highest number of asylum seekers come, after Syria and Afghanistan.
According to Turkish sources on Thursday, there is movement in Germany regarding Turkey’s desired purchase of Eurofighter jets. Turkey intends to boost its defence arsenal with 40 Eurofighters. Germany is involved in their production. This is why the German government has to approve any export of the jets.
Erdogan harshly attacks Israel time and again for its actions in the Gaza War and in Lebanon. In this context, he accuses the German government of double standards, criticising for example its supply of weapons to Israel.
