Merkel “upbeat” after talks with Erdogan in China

[webfact]

Merkel “upbeat” after talks with Erdogan in China

Catherine Hardy

 

 

HANGZHOU: -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has had informal talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the fringes of the G20 summit in China.

 

The summit is being held in the southern Chinese city of Hangzhou.

 

What did they talk about?

 

Merkel struck an upbeat tone after the meeting.

 

Aides say she is expecting progress on two thorny issues that have marred German and European ties with Ankara in recent times.

Both Germany and the EU are trying to ease tensions with Turkey after criticising Erdogan’s crackdown on opponents following a failed coup in July.

They depend on Ankara to stem the flow of migrants through the Balkans.
 

Incirlik air base

 

Merkel voiced hopes that Turkey would soon lift a ban on German lawmakers visiting their country’s military personnel stationed at a Turkish air base.

 

Ankara has refused to allow German lawmakers to visit employees at its Incirlik air base.

 

Aircraft at the base provide support for the campaign against ISIL.

 

Commentators say this is linked to the Armenian question.

 

Turkey banned German lawmakers from visiting the base near the Syrian border in June after their parliament passed a resolution declaring the 1915 killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces a ‘genocide’.

 

Turkey accepts many Christian Armenians were killed but contests assertions that up to 1.5 million died.

 

It also denies the killings were orchestrated.

 

An official told the Reuters news agency that Ankara is expected to approve an October 4 visit to the base.

 

Visa liberalisation

 

Merkel said there was the possibility of “a positive outcome” regarding Turkish demands on visa liberalisation in the EU connected to the migrant deal agreed in March, but did not specify details.

 

Strained relations

 

German-Turkish relations have been strained since the German Parliament voted in June to label the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago as genocide.

 

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of the First World War.

 

The event is widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.

 

Turkey, however, denies the deaths amount to genocide. Ankara says the toll has been inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-09-05

[jaidam]

Not surprised she is upbeat. From the end of december all Turks will be able to move en masse to Europe seeing as that is when her visa free travel scheme starts. It must be a thrilling prospect for her,  as there are a fair few Turks and they do represent her favorite type.

[ezzra]

Her days are numbered,

GERMANY’S anti-migrant populists made a strong showing at Sunday’s state polls, scoring ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party as voters punished the German leader over her liberal refugee policy.

The xenophobic Alternative for Germany (AfD) clinched around 21 per cent in its first bid for seats in the regional parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Vorpommern, results showed after most ballots were counted.

 

Although she won praise at first, the optimism has given way to fears over how Europe’s biggest economy will manage to integrate the million people who arrived last year alone.

Merkel’s decision has left her increasingly isolated in Europe, and exposed her to heavy criticism at home, including from her own conservative allies.....

[tomacht8]

If you look at the flags in the background, it's official.
Merkel as a Turkish province politician.

[Rancid]

Erdogan is a smooth operator, he blows a few kisses in Russia's direction and now has NATO scrambling to give him what he wants. Let's ignore that military specialists concur that Russia has no desire or the force projection to invade Europe, a bogie man is needed to keep those military budgets (and kickbacks) rolling in.

[Baerboxer]

7 hours ago, jaidam said:

Not surprised she is upbeat. From the end of december all Turks will be able to move en masse to Europe seeing as that is when her visa free travel scheme starts. It must be a thrilling prospect for her,  as there are a fair few Turks and they do represent her favorite type.

 

No they won't. This really is the sort of bs that the UKIP clowns and Barmy Boris spout. They will be allowed visa exempt entry - 30 days possibly, no right to work, receive benefits or stay. Just like when you go on holiday.

[jaidam]

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

 

No they won't. This really is the sort of bs that the UKIP clowns and Barmy Boris spout. They will be allowed visa exempt entry - 30 days possibly, no right to work, receive benefits or stay. Just like when you go on holiday.

I believe the mechanism for overstaying that visa and winning life on the public purse is known as "claiming asylum". The Turks are not daft.

[Stargeezr]

I do wonder just how much longer this German leader will be in power?

  It seems that her popularity has slipped and is still slipping.

  Maybe Germany has got enough refugees and the people will send her

to one of the camps to run the soup kitchen, or is Germany still the

land of milk and honey, and Ms. Mekel is still okay with the

people of Germany.

Geezer