24 March 2017•Update: 24 March 2017
By Ayhan Simsek
BERLIN
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended her policy of seeking dialogue with Ankara amid attempts to calm tensions over Turkish campaign rallies in Europe.
In an interview published on Friday, Merkel dismissed calls from German opposition parties for a tougher response to Ankara’s heavy criticism of its European partners.
Merkel told German daily Passauer Neue Presse she favored addressing issues in direct talks rather than entering into a war of words in public.
“When I speak with President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan I speak very clearly and say how things stand. But as a Chancellor, I view our relations with Turkey on the whole, which also includes geopolitical considerations, and our coexistence with millions of people of Turkish origin here in Germany,” she added.
Ankara has heavily criticized European states after the authorities in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands banned some campaign rallies ahead of Turkey’s April 16 referendum on sweeping constitutional changes.
President Erdogan compared the bans with Nazi-era practices and also accused European governments of taking sides in Turkey’s referendum by favoring the No campaign.
Nazi accusations
Merkel on Friday renewed her call for Turkish leaders not to make Nazi comparisons, arguing this might end up trivializing the crimes committed by Nazi Germany.
Asked whether the EU might react to recent tensions by suspending Turkey’s membership talks, Merkel replied by saying the future of EU-Turkey ties would likely depend on the outcome of the April 16 referendum and developments thereafter.
However, she reaffirmed her strong support for closer cooperation between the EU and Turkey in addressing the refugee crisis, despite growing uncertainty on the future of the EU-Turkey refugee agreement signed in March 2016.
“The agreement between the EU and Turkey is in the interest of both sides. The situation is much better now for all sides, also for the refugees, and this agreement has made decisive contributions to that,” she said.
Germany received a record 890,000 refugees in 2015, but the number of asylum seekers dropped to 280,000 in 2016, after the EU-Turkey agreement became effective.
While the plan has successfully reduced refugee flows, Turkish authorities have accused the EU of not honoring commitments.
These include delays in promised funding for refugee projects, the opposition of several EU states to the relocation of refugees, a lack of progress in talks to accelerate Turkey’s EU membership and visa-free travel for Turkish nationals.
Recent tensions between Turkey and its EU partners have further increased doubts about the future of the refugee agreement, with Turkish officials publicly saying Ankara might reconsider the arrangement.
Turkey’s relations with Germany, Netherlands and Austria have deteriorated recently after authorities in these countries cancelled several planned rallies by Turkish ministers and politicians, citing security concerns.
Turkish President Erdogan, who was planning to visit Germany ahead of the referendum, also cancelled his program after recent tensions.
Nearly 1.5 million Turkish migrants in Germany, 250 thousand in Netherlands and nearly 110 thousand in Austria are eligible to vote in Turkey’s April 16 referendum on constitutional reforms.
Turkish citizens living in Germany and Austria will cast their votes at Turkish consulates between March 27 and April 9. In Netherlands the voting will take place from April 5th through April 9th.
