The foreign ministers of Germany and Turkey have agreed to make every effort to improve ties that have strained since the attempted coup in 2016. They said they were keen to make amends and believed they could tackle recent escalations in tension through dialogue. CGTN's Guy Henderson has more.

The German and Turkish foreign ministers made sure the media saw them smiling and chatting before they made their statements — which didn't take place here at the foreign ministry, but at Sigmar Gabriel's private home.

Both focused on how they might improve ties through 2018 — after a serious deterioration through 2017. They want, for example, various bilateral committees to meet regularly again to solve some of their outstanding political issues, and build their economic relationship. And the Turkish side claim they may still one day want to join the European Union.

MEVLUT CAVUSOGLU TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER "We are the foreign ministers of two very proud countries which don't react to pressure or threats from others. We can overcome our difficulties through dialogue and sincere cooperation, and we want to do so."

That became a hot issue through a year in which Germany and Turkey both faced important tests at the ballot box — and in which slagging each other off played well amongst their voters.

With those out the way, it's time for New Year's Resolutions. Which may not be easy to keep though — the day before, a far tenser meeting took place between the Turkish and French presidents where Recep Tayyip Erdogan branded journalists 'gardeners' of terrorism; and where Emmanuel Macron said there was no chance for accession talks to progress because of Turkey's deteriorating human rights record. With several German citizens still sitting in Turkish jails — that's a sentiment widely shared here. Guy Henderson, CGTN, BERLIN.