Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will arrive in Germany on Thursday for a high-profile state visit aiming to improve political and economic relations between the two countries.
During his three-day visit, Erdoğan will meet his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier and will hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
He is scheduled to meet with representatives of Turkish community and the CEOs of major German companies, separately.
In Berlin, Erdoğan will receive a warm welcome, including a military honor guard and a state dinner hosted by Steinmeier at the presidential palace Schloss Bellevue.
Turkey will continue to purchase Iranian natural gas, Reuters reported Wednesday quoting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.In a late Tuesday interview with Reuters in New York on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting, Erdoğan said the U.S. threats to punish countries doing business with Iran would not deter Turkey from purchasing Iranian natural gas.“We need to be realistic ... How can I heat my people’s homes if we stop purchasing Iran’s natural gas?,” Reuters quoted Erdoğan as saying.The first round of the U.S. pre-nuclear deal sanctions on Iran, largely targeting the country’s banking sector, came into effect in August.In November, a second phase of U.S. sanctions banning the purchase of Iranian oil and gas is expected to come into effect.The sanctions target Tehran's acquisition of U.S. dollars, precious metals trade, transactions related to Iran's rial currency, activities related to Iran's sovereign debt, and the country's automotive sector.'If Trump wants oil price to stop going up, he should stop interfering in Middle East'Syria crisisRegarding the ongoing Syria crisis, Erdoğan reiterated that “it was impossible for Syrian peace efforts to continue with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power.”He added that the withdrawal of “radical groups” already started from a new demilitarized zone in Syria’s Idlib region.Last week, Turkey and Russia agreed to establish a demilitarized zone in Idlib, Syria’s last opposition stronghold, following a meeting in Sochi between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.Ankara and Moscow also signed a memorandum of understanding calling for the “stabilization” of Idlib's de-escalation zone, in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.According to the MoU, opposition groups in Idlib will remain in areas in which they are already present, while Russia and Turkey will conduct joint patrols in the area with a view to preventing renewed fighting.Turkish doctors save Syrian patient's lifePastor Brunson caseAlso speaking on the detention of pastor Andrew Brunson who is under house arrest in Turkey for terrorism charges, Erdoğan said Turkish justice, not politicians, will decide the fate of American pastor.“This is a judiciary matter. Brunson has been detained on terrorism charges ... On Oct. 12, there will be another hearing and we don’t know what the court will decide and politicians will have no say on the verdict,” he told Reuters.As the Turkish president, Erdoğan has no right to order the release of Brunson, he emphasized, saying: “Our judiciary is independent. Let’s wait and see what the court will decide.”Turkey's Erdoğan says court will decide fate of detained US pastorTurkey and the U.S. experience rocky relations following Washington’s imposition of sanctions over the detention of Brunson.Brunson's charges include spying for the PKK -- listed as a terrorist group by both the U.S. and Turkey -- and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), the group behind the defeated coup attempt in Turkey of July 2016.Political tensions between the two countries had sparked worries in markets this month, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to use economic pressure over the American pastor who faces terrorism-related charges in Turkey.
Turkey to continue buying Iranian gas: Erdoğan
Chancellor Merkel will host a lunch for Erdoğan at the Chancellory on Friday, and the two leaders will meet again on Saturday morning for a working breakfast to discuss bilateral and international issues.
Erdoğan’s visit comes at a time of growing tensions between the U.S. and Germany over President Donald Trump’s unilateral moves in foreign policy and his imposition of additional tariffs on foreign goods.
Developments in Syria, cooperation in addressing the refugee crisis, economic and trade relations between Turkey and Germany would be among other topics on the agenda.
On Saturday, Erdoğan will travel to the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which has a large Turkish immigrant population.
In Cologne, Erdoğan will attend the inauguration ceremony of Cologne Central Mosque, run by Turkish-German Muslim association DITIB.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will inaugurate one of the largest mosques in Europe in the German city of Cologne on Saturday. The Cologne Central Mosque, built by the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) after eight years of construction work, has a capacity of 1,200 people.
Erdoğan to inaugurate one of Europe’s largest mosques in Germany