ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday met with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his first visit to the country to discuss regional conflicts, security cooperation, and EU integration.
“We want to continue these discussions going forward,” Merz said of Turkey's years-long bid to join the European Union, in a news conference with Erdogan in Ankara.
Ankara’s bid to join the EU is effectively on hold because of European concerns about democratic backsliding in Turkey.
Merz said that the world has entered “a new geopolitical phase where major powers will shape global politics."
“As a German and European, we must deepen strategic partnerships, and Turkey cannot be excluded," he said, hailing Ankara as a "very important actor in all foreign policy and security matters that concern us."
Germany is home to Turkey’s largest diaspora.
Gaza and Ukraine
Merz thanked Ankara for its role in fostering peace in Gaza.
“This process would not have been possible without Turkey, Qatar, Egypt, and the US. Thank you for making it happen," the German chancellor said, describing Israel's war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, as a “right to self-defense" and saying Palestinian Hamas should have no future in Gaza.
Erdogan criticised Berlin over what he said was its ignorance of the Israeli government's "genocide" and attacks on the Palestinian enclave.
Hamas “has neither bombs nor nuclear weapons, but Israel does,” Erdogan said. “Germany, don’t you see this?”
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire earlier this month, bringing an end to their two-year war.
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The first phase included the release of all hostages and an Israeli withdrawal to agreed-upon lines.
The conflict, the bloodiest in Gaza, began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise incursion into southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
In response, Israel launched a wide-scale military campaign. Nearly 68,000 Palestinians have been killed and about 170,000 injured in Israeli bombardments, according to the Gaza health ministry. A UN commission concluded that Israel committed genocide.
Concerning the Russia-Ukraine war, both sides said that the conflict must be brought to an end.
If Russia refuses to cease fire, Merz warned the US and EU will impose biting sanctions on Moscow.
“The EU and the US are considering sanctions simultaneously. Subsequently, of course, the UN needs to enforce these sanctions," the German chancellor said. "We are determined to implement them and ensure they are not bypassed. We will also make progress in bringing Russia to the negotiating table."
Despite American efforts to broker a ceasefire, Russia and Ukraine continue to attack each other. In addition to attacks on eastern Ukraine, on Thursday night Russia directed 200 drones toward the Kirovograd region, injuring ten people, including four children. On Friday morning, Ukraine targeted a Russian military airport.
More than 12,000 civilians have been killed since Russia launched its military campaign against Ukraine in February 2022. An estimated 3.7 million Ukrainians have been displaced internally, while around 6.1 million have sought refuge in Europe and beyond, according to United Nations data.