When Angela Merkel and Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet today at the Foreign Ministry in Berlin, the pictures of two important world leaders should be nice, friendly ones; the German chancellor and the Turkish prime minister shaking hands as they cement the friendship between their two countries. The ceremony is being held to mark the 50th anniversary of the first 'guest workers' arriving in Germany from Turkey, and ahead of the prime minister's visit, Merkel praised the migrants, saying they had become part of the country.
The reception for Erdogan laid on by German President Christian Wulff on Tuesday evening was also a harmonious affair. But the kind words and grand gestures between the two countries cannot cover the fact that serious tensions exist between them -- tensions underlined by inflammatory comments made by Erdogan in an interview with German daily Bild on Wednesday.
Turkey is one of the world's up and coming nations, and its economy is booming. At the same time, Erdogan is pursuing a new, aggressive foreign policy which is viewed with the utmost concern not only by Turkey's immediate neighbours, but also in Berlin.
After the ceremony in the Foreign Ministry, therefore, the leaders are likely to talk turkey, so to speak. Erdogan and Merkel will meet for a frank exchange of opinions in which sensitive foreign policy issues will be on the agenda -- including the situation in North Africa and the Middle East, the conflict with the Kurds and bilateral relations. » | Anna Reimann | Wednesday, November 02, 2011
