The Chancellor, in his second visit to Turkey since taking office, rejects the Turkish President's use of the term “genocide” and stresses that Israel has the right to defend itself but must respect international law.
Olaf Schulz stressed that “the ceasefire opportunities must be exploited to release the hostages held by Hamas.”
More than 50,000 people were killed, whether they were children, women or the elderly
– answered Erdogan, who found that the measures initiated by the International Criminal Court against Israel under the title of “genocide” were justified.
At the same time, the Turkish President expressed his great appreciation for the German Chancellor's efforts to lift restrictions on arms deliveries to Türkiye.
Ankara hopes to make progress in purchasing 40 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to make up for delays in the sale of US F-16 jets, which Washington agreed to sell earlier this year.
“Türkiye is a member of NATO, so we always make decisions that lead to concrete deliverables,” the Chancellor said.
Delivery of the Eurofighter requires the approval of the four countries involved in production – the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain.
There have been some problems in the past. I really appreciate the efforts of my dear friend Schulz to find solutions
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
According to the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel, Berlin recently allowed the shipment of large weapons worth hundreds of millions of euros to Ankara. Among the weapons delivered were anti-aircraft missiles. After the Turkish attack in Syria in 2016, Germany significantly reduced arms exports to Türkiye.
Germany is home to the largest Turkish community in the world, about three million people. Erdogan said on Saturday that the volume of trade between the two countries had reached $50 billion, expressing his hope that the value of bilateral trade would rise to $60 billion.
