BERLIN, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) is hosting Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in Berlin on Thursday as the two countries seek to repair their strained diplomatic relationship.
A key sticking point which is widely-expected to be addressed in the high-level talks is the fate of German journalist Deniz Yuecel.
Yuecel has been imprisoned for a year in Turkey on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization. Berlin has repeatedly criticized the arrest of "Welt" newspaper correspondent as politically-motivated and demanded his swift release.
Prior to his arrival in Germany on Thursday, Yildirim told the public broadcaster "ARD" that, while it was ultimately up to the Turkish judiciary to decide, he was hopeful that Yuecel would be a free man again soon.
Similarly, acting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) said that he was "relatively optimistic" that a court verdict would soon be reached. "Of course, I hope that the ruling will be positive for Deniz Yuecel", Gabriel added.
Yilidirim advocated for a frank exchange of views between himself and Merkel in order to overcome "quarrelling in the past" which had weighed on the traditionally close ties between their two countries.
Although diplomatic tensions were eased slightly after the recent release by Turkish authorities of the German journalist Mesale Tolu, Turkey's ongoing military intervention against Kurdish forces in Northern Syria remains a highly controversial issue in Germany.
Sahra Wagenkecht, parliamentary faction leader of the Left party (Linke) took the meeting between Merkel and Yildirim as another opportunity to call for a complete stop of German arms exports to Turkey and demand the freezing of already largely symbolic European Union (EU) accession talks with Ankara.
Wagenknecht argued that it was "inacceptable that Deniz Yuecel has been imprisoned for a year while Turkey continues to receive European financial- and credit aid worth millions of euros".
Green party (Gruene) leader Cem Oezdemir further urged Merkel to make the Turkish military intervention in Northern Syria as subject of the talks. Oezdemir also demanded the unconditional release of Yuecel and warned against a "dirty deal" in which the journalist's freedom was bought with arms exports.
Similarly, Niels Annen, the parliamentary foreign policy spokesperson for the German Social Democrats (SPD), emphasized that arms should currently not be exported to Turkey.
"As long as a war is being led against the Kurds, I cannot imagine arms exports," Annen said. Nevertheless, he advocated maintaining a relationship of partners between Germany and Turkey.
