Turkish-German relations: Real Politik vs. Idealism?

World
Europe

Germany's foreign minister held talks on Saturday with his Turkish counterpart in a bid to "overcome difficulties" and improve relations between the nations, a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met France's Emmanuel Macron.

Relations between the Nato allies and trade partners deteriorated after the failed coup in Turkey in 2016, when Turkey detained one of its "gardeners (Erdogan referred journalists are 'gardeners' of terrorism)" Turkish-German Die Welt correspondent Denis Yucel.

Yucel's continued detention, along with several other German citizens, has become a prominent symbol here of the divergent path from Europe's own that Erdogan's Turkey has taken since a failed coup in 2016, which has seen clampdowns on political opponents, civil society, and the media.

That contributed to a spiral plunge in bilateral relations over the last twelve months. Low points might include Erdogan branding Chancellor Angela Merkel's stance on Turkey's EU membership hopes as "Nazism"; and Sigmar Gabriel, Merkel's foreign minister, blaming Erdogan personally for threatening voicemails apparently sent to his wife.

File photo of Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan /AP Photo

It's not hard to see why both Germany and Turkey have spoken of the need for a reset in 2018 as their foreign ministers meet on Saturday (at Gabriel's private home with his wife): Ankara is a vital NATO ally in a volatile region; Germany is an important trade partner; and then there's the huge number of refugees who reside in Turkey, instead, in all likelihood, of in Europe.

In a New Year interview with German magazine Spiegel, the German foreign minister spoke of a need for Europe to assert its interests rather than simply its values in a tough international arena in 2018. Perhaps Turkey could be the first test.