German chancellor arrives in Turkiye on official visit

ANKARA

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday arrived in Turkiye for his first official visit since he took office.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed Scholz with an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in the capital Ankara.

Erdogan and Scholz are due to hold a joint news conference following one-on-one and inter-delegation meetings.

They are also expected to discuss the bilateral ties, regional issues, and diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

"Aside from bilateral ties, an exchange of views is expected to be held on other regional and international issues, primarily Ukraine and Turkey-EU relations," according to the statement by the Turkish Presidency.

Ahead of bilateral talks with Erdogan, Scholz first visited Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Republic of Turkiye, and laid a wreath at Ataturk's gravesite.

Scholz is scheduled to return to Berlin later Monday.

Following Turkiye's efforts, Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers met in Antalya last week for their first face-to-face meeting since the war started on Feb. 24.

Russian and Ukrainian delegations are also holding a videoconference meeting on Monday to discuss a cease-fire, immediate withdrawal of troops and security guarantees.

At least 596 civilians have been killed and 1,067 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to the UN, which has said that conditions on the ground make it difficult to verify the true number.

More than 2.8 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, said the UN refugee agency.