The meeting between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Olaf Solz lasted about an hour. In the conversation between the two leaders, which took place at the Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, all the issues related to the bilateral relations of the two countries, as well as the developments in the Middle East, were raised.
According to the Turkish and German media, the two men showed that they are acquiring a channel of communication in the area of defense industry products and mainly for the Eurofighters that Turkey wants to acquire. On the contrary, there was a disagreement on the part of Israel which was also reflected during the press conference.
Of particular importance was Erdogan’s statement opening the borders for Syrians and Lebanese who want to move away from the war zone, as well as Soltz’s position on Greek-Turkish.
“Let’s leave behind the problems of the past”
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaking about the cooperation of the two countries in the war industry and the Eurofighter said: “In the context of the supply of defense industry products, we wish to develop our cooperation leaving behind some of the problems of the past”.
In fact, Anadolu reported that Berlin has approved arms sales to Turkey and is “committed to more”.
#BREAKING Germany’s Scholz says Berlin recently approved arms sales to NATO ally Türkiye, adding that ‘there will be more’ pic.twitter.com/tyQOM5NkNU
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) October 19, 2024
President Erdogan then referred to Israel and attacked Netanyahu again. “The genocide that Israel is committing in Gaza and the Palestinian territories and the attacks in Lebanon was another important issue we discussed. The human tragedy in the region continues. It is imperative that we do everything we can to bring international pressure to bear on an urgent, permanent ceasefire and to put the necessary pressure on Israel. We expect all politicians with a conscience to say ‘stop’ Israel” he said among other things.
Concluding his presentation, he also referred to the issue of Syrians and Lebanese who are welcome in Turkey.
“Turkey will be treated like any other NATO country”
For his part, Olaf Solz, after receiving a related question about the cooperation between the two countries, said: “Turkey is a member of NATO and of course we have decisions on specific issues from this point of view. This is also natural and we recently made such a decision. And there will be other decisions. Of course, the projects that exist are still in their infancy. For example, there are negotiations conducted by the British government. Of course, there will be developments in this matter. There will be progress.”
On the contrary, he made it clear that he is against the statements made by Tayyip Erdoğan about Israel. “We have different views on Israel. The attack by Hamas on October 7 was a terrible crime. We are of the opinion that Israel has the right of self-defense. De-escalation and ceasefire are necessary to prevent this conflict from spreading. There must be a two-state solution,” said Olaf Solz for his part.
The reference to Greek-Turkish
During his placement, Olaf Solz wanted to make special mention of Greek-Turkish relations. In fact, he did not hide his satisfaction as he said about the fact that they are developing in a positive direction.
“I would also like to refer to the relations with Greece. I am very happy to see that these relations are developing in a more positive direction and at the same time I hope that this course will lead to the continuation of good friendly relations” was his typical comment.
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