Top German and Turkish diplomats to meet in Germany

Turkish and German foreign ministers plan to meet in German FM's home town of Goslar in Lower Saxony this weekend, Turkish officials say.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (left) and Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu shake hands in Ankara, Turkey, June 5, 2017.
AP

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (left) and Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu shake hands in Ankara, Turkey, June 5, 2017.

The foreign ministers of Germany and Turkey will meet this weekend in an effort to ease the tensions between Ankara and the EU that surfaced in 2017, Turkish officials said on Wednesday.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel will host Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in his home town of Goslar in Lower Saxony on Saturday, the officials said.

The visit will represent the German leg of talks between the two men who met in November in Cavusoglu's home region of Antalya in southern Turkey.

A foreign ministry official, contacted by AFP, confirmed the meeting would be in Goslar. The German foreign ministry said a meeting was planned there without giving a date.

Relations between Turkey and Germany hit a low last year as Berlin strongly criticised the arrests after the failed coup that left over 55,000 arrested. Ankara accused Berlin of meddling in Turkey's internal affairs.

Tensions with other EU members, including Austria and the Netherlands, meanwhile appeared to bring Turkey's bid to join the European Union to a halt.

But Ankara has issued a several signals in recent days that it wants warmer relations with the European Union, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is heading to France on Friday for talks with President Emmanuel Macron.

The better tone has been helped by the shared opposition of both Turkey and key EU states, including France and Germany, to President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Berlin was particularly incensed by the holding of several German nationals as Ankara took action following the July 2016 coup bid, although tensions eased slightly following several releases in recent months.

At least 249 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured as Turkish people took to the streets and fought against armed soldiers, tanks, helicopters and F-16 fighter jets to stop the coup attempt by a faction of the military.

Fetullah Gulen and his followers called the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO), for orchestrating the coup attempt.

FETO is also accused of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Most recently, German pilgrim David Britsch and German journalist Mesale Tolu were set free by Turkey in developments welcomed by Berlin.

Route 6