Erdogan, Merkel to meet in Germany

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are set to meet in Germany on Thursday ahead of the G20 summit in Hamburg, German government spokesman said Wednesday.

Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Steffen Seibert said the request for the meeting came from the Turkish side, adding the time of the meeting was not scheduled yet.

Merkel is also scheduled to have bilateral meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday afternoon in Hamburg, a day before the summit starts.

The announcement of Merkel's meeting with Erdogan comes amid escalating tensions between Berlin and Ankara.

The Turkish government has sharply criticized German authorities this week for blocking Erdogan from addressing Turkish immigrants in Germany on the sidelines of the July 7-8 summit.

Representatives of Germany's three-million-strong Turkish community were planning to host Erdogan at a public event. However, German opposition parties have fiercely opposed Erdogan’s planned address, increasing pressure on the government ahead of a general election in September.

Ties between Ankara and Berlin have been strained in recent months as Turkish leaders slammed Germany for turning a blind eye to outlawed groups and terrorist organizations, while German politicians criticized Turkey over human rights and freedom of the press issues.

Despite repeated requests by Ankara to arrest suspects involved in last July's coup attempt, German authorities have turned down extradition requests and argued that Ankara should first provide legally sound evidence.

Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) which is believed to have organized the foiled coup bid, runs dozens of private schools, businesses and media organizations in Germany.

Since the July 15 coup attempt, nearly 4,000 FETO suspects went to Germany from Turkey and other countries, according to local media reports.

Apart from FETO, the terrorist PKK group has also a large network in Germany and carries out significant propaganda, recruitment and funding activities.

The group has nearly 14,000 followers in the country, from whom it annually collects more than €13 million (over $14 million), according to the reports of German domestic intelligence agency, BfV.