site.btaGermany Says EU's New Defence Programme Must Be Open to "Geostrategic Partner" Turkiye

The Foreign Ministers of Turkiye and Germany, Hakan Fidan and Johann Wadephul, met in Berlin on Friday, just six weeks after their meeting in Ankara and the subsequent visit of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Turkiye. Common positions and topics such as NATO, trying to find a solution to end the Russia-Ukraine war, Turkiye's accession to the European Union, and opportunities for further progress in trade and economic relations were among the topics discussed by the foreign ministers in Berlin. 

During the joint press conference, broadcast live, the German Foreign Minister reiterated Berlin's support for Turkiye's membership in the European Union. 

"Turkiye has taken on the task of being a partner in a number of key areas. From this point of view, we would like to strengthen relations between Turkiye and the European Union. Among the binding conditions for this are the Copenhagen criteria related to the rule of law. They are among the core values of the European Union (...) If Turkiye wants to join the EU, Germany will always be a partner it can trust and see as a friend," Wadephul said, announcing that it was time to turn a new page in relations between the two countries. Germany's Foreign Minister said his country was ready to help Turkiye on its path to the EU. 

Turkiye's Foreign Minister reiterated that his country was ready to meet the membership criteria, but that negotiations had been frozen. "There is no problem with the assessment of the criteria. There can't be any. These are the rules of the game. If you want to join a club, it usually has rules, and you have to do the necessary. But the main issue here is that, at the moment, the process is not progressing, and no new chapters are being opened for negotiation," Fidan said. 

Turkiye, as a long-standing and reliable NATO ally, should be included in the EU's new defence programmes, German Foreign Minister Wadephul said. "I firmly believe the EU's SAFE programme must be opened to Turkiye and the United Kingdom as important NATO partners. We are engaged in constructive talks on this matter. As I have already emphasised, Turkiye has always been a very reliable and stable NATO partner. As the German government, we have been seeking to take our bilateral relationship to a new level and, in particular, to strengthen the security aspect," Wadephul said.

Fidan emphasized that Turkiye's desire to be part of this security mechanism is not only related to finding a market for its defence industry, but also to its own security. 

Wadephul said that Germany and Turkiye have common goals in the context of NATO and trying to find a way to end the Russia-Ukraine war. He thanked Fidan for Turkiye's mediation in the negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. "If Putin really wants peace, now is the time to sit down at the negotiating table," the German Foreign Minister said. He described the Geneva negotiations on finding a way to end the Russia-Ukraine war as important progress and added that issues affecting NATO and the European Union were discussed. 

Fidan, for his part, reaffirmed Turkiye's readiness to host a new round of negotiations. "We support direct negotiations between the sides. That is why we must not run away from the negotiating table. As our President Erdogan said, there are no winners in war, and there are no losers in peace," Fidan said.

Wadephul said Germany views Turkiye as an important "geostrategic partner" and both Turkiye and Germany noted that they would like to open a "new page" in bilateral relations.

"Germany is our largest trading partner in Europe and, globally, our largest export market. There is a trend for trade to reach USD 60 billion from USD 50 billion. We continue efforts to increase bilateral investment," the Turkish Foreign Minister said. Fidan identified renewable energy sources, high technology, digitalisation and artificial intelligence as priority investments.

Common goals were also set with regard to the situation in the Middle East. Wadephul emphasized Turkiye's role in persuading the Islamist group Hamas to accept the ceasefire agreement with Israel, as well as Turkiye's contribution to finding the hostages. 

Fidan's programme in Berlin continues throughout the day, including meetings with representatives of the business community and the Turkish diaspora, as well as a visit to the Bundestag.