Türkiye slams Germany for losing neutrality as mediator

By Trend

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavushoglu criticized Germany for losing its neutral stance and called on Berlin to adopt an impartial stance regarding its mediator role with regards to the dispute between Türkiye and Greece. He also urged the country to take concrete steps against terrorist groups, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

Urging Germany to be wary of provocations and propaganda by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, the foreign minister stressed the need for a balanced stance in a joint news conference with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Istanbul on Friday.

"Germany had a neutral stance as a mediator regarding disputes between Türkiye, Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration but it has lost its impartiality," he said.

He continued by saying that Germany should not heed "propaganda" from the Greek side regarding its standoff with Türkiye, including on the countries' disputed maritime border.

"The Greek islands of Lesbos, Chios, Rhodes and many others are Greek territories and nobody has the right to question them," Baerbock said alongside Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias in Athens earlier on Friday.

"We cannot solve the problems of the Eastern Mediterranean by escalating tensions," she added.

Cavushoglu retorted: "Why are you closing your eyes to Greece's unlawful actions?"

Türkiye and Germany developed a warm friendship in the era of former Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"When Merkel was there, Germany's position was balanced," Cavushoglu said. "It could do mediation."

Germany played a central role in helping calm another spike in tensions between Ankara and Athens in 2020.

Baerbock's visit to Athens saw Greek Foreign Minister Dendias call on Germany to suspend a joint venture under which Türkiye is producing a modern new class of submarines.

Berlin has previously argued that it cannot suspend a commercial agreement signed by Germany's Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems.

"We conveyed Türkiye’s concerns regarding terrorist organizations’ activities in Germany and expect concrete actions from them," Cavushoglu said.

Baerbock responded to Cavushoglu's criticism by saying that Germany recognizes the PKK as a terrorist group and the laws treat them as such and that attacks targeting Turkish people in the country are prosecuted.

The PKK terrorist group raised an estimated 16.7 million euros ($17.8 million) in Germany last year, and also raised more than 30 million euros in Europe in various fundraising campaigns, according to a report by the German domestic intelligence agency BfV.

Since 2013, at least 295 foreign fighters from Germany traveled to northern Syria and Iraq where they received military training from PKK terrorists and took part in armed attacks in the region, according to the report.

At least 30 of these foreign fighters died in battle zones, while nearly 150 of them returned to Germany in recent years, the report said, without giving any further details.

According to the BfV, followers of the PKK terrorist group committed more than 300 crimes last year in Germany, including violent attacks, resulting in personal injury and property damage. At least nine people were injured in these attacks.

The Turkish foreign minister also expressed concern over rising xenophobia and Islamophobia in Europe and Germany.

Germany has experienced a rise in racism and Islamophobia in recent years. Germany is home to 84 million people and hosts the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France. Of the country’s nearly 5 million Muslims, at least 3 million are of Turkish descent.

The Turkish community in Europe is concerned with the rising trend of Islamophobia and Turkophobia in Western countries and has called on European states to escalate measures against hate crimes.

Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have frequently urged European decision-makers and politicians to take a stance against racism and other types of discrimination that have threatened the lives of millions of people living within the bloc’s borders.

He noted that Ankara expects European Union to lift political obstacles for membership.