On his return from Turkey, Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has expressed his satisfaction that he was able to gain a first-hand impression of the situation in the country. In his talks with the government he stressed that the measures Turkey has taken against members of the opposition do not comply with rule-of-law standards.
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In Ankara, Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. He also met with opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, members of parliament belonging to the pro-Kurdish HDP party and representatives of Turkey’s civil society. Although "the talks in Ankara were difficult, as expected", the trip was well worthwhile, said Frank-Walter Steinmeier, since it had given him the opportunity to gain a first-hand impression of the situation in the country.
The German Federal Foreign Minister reaffirmed that the measures taken against members of the opposition and civil society, newspapers, radio and television channels and numerous teachers and officials do not comply with rule‑of‑law standards by any means.
"I made this quite clear in my talks, just as I stressed our willingness to cooperate with Turkey closely and in a spirit of partnership once again on the basis of our European values. That offer still stands. At the end of the day, the Turkish Government has to decide," he said.
In his speech in the German Bundestag, the Federal Foreign Minister posed the question, "whether what we are now seeing, whether the groups of individuals who are now being persecuted are actually still linked to the attempted coup or to terrorism. And above all we must ask whether the procedure adopted by the Turkish government can be reconciled with minimum rule-of-law standards."
All the storms, the turmoil that Turkey is currently experiencing, point to one thing: Turkey is at a crossroads. "What is at stake is the direction the country will take: towards Europe – or away from Europe. Towards a constitutional democracy including respected parliamentary opposition – or away from it," said Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The Federal Foreign Minister stressed that the German government wants Turkey to retain close links to Europe. "At this crossroads we should give Turkey a very clear sign: we are for close European links with Turkey. We want close European links with Turkey."
At the government press conference on 7 November, federal government spokesperson Steffen Seibert called for "a clear, common European stance" on events in Turkey. Europe must make it clear to the country "what impacts repression of the press and repression of the opposition will have on relations to the European Union," said Steffen Seibert.
This is "the right way to demonstrate where Europe’s solidarity lies, i.e. with those who stand up for a pluralist and democratic state," reinforced the government spokesperson.