BERLIN, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Germany and Turkey must maintain open communicative channels between the two countries in spite of their recent political differences, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said here Friday during a joint press conference with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Merkel noted that there were still "significant differences" between Berlin and Ankara which were weighing on their traditionally-close relationship, including with regards to freedom of the press and human rights. At the same time, however, she highlighted that Germany and Turkey were also "united" on a range of issues such as their shared NATO membership, questions surrounding immigration and the fight against terrorism.
The chancellor further announced that Germany, Turkey, France and Russia would host a conference together in October to deliberate over the state of the civil war in Syria. The focus of the talks will hereby be placed on the embattled town of Idlib, the last stronghold of Islamist rebels in the country.
Erdogan is being offered his first ever state banquet hosted by president Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the German capital on Friday night, a move which has been criticized as an undue honor for the Turkish president by some domestic opposition politicians.
German-Turkish ties have come under severe strain in the wake of a failed military coup against president Erdogan and a resulting crackdown on what the ruling AKP party describes as terrorist groups and revolutionaries.
Speaking ahead of Erdogan's arrival in Germany, Michael Roth, minister of state in the country's foreign office, emphasized that a normalization of the German-Turkish relationship could only occur once Ankara released the remaining five German citizens jailed in the country on political grounds.
Although Merkel will not attend the state banquet herself, she told the press that it was important to preserve bilateral dialogue because it was the "only way to overcome differences."
She added that she would reiterate demands for all German prisoners to be freed shortly during a breakfast with Erdogan on Saturday, while welcoming earlier Turkish decisions to release several of the affected inmates which meant that "some (of those previously jailed) are now free."
Merkel also praised Turkey for its "extraordinary efforts" with the view to the hosting of more than 3 million refugees from Syria and Iraq. In turn, Erdogan thanked Germany for its assistance in brokering an agreement between Turkey and the European Union (EU) on joint asylum policies.
Erdogan's visit to Germany comes at what is widely seen as an awkward time for the Turkish president given that his country is currently in the midst of a spiraling currency crisis. Turkish official has publicly expressed hopes that resulting talks with German political and business leaders will encourage more trade with, and investment from, Germany and hence re-assure markets about the prospects of Turkish growth and the value of lira.
Germany is Turkey's largest trading partner, accounting for a bilateral volume of trade of around 37.6 billion euros (43.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017.
