Turkey doesn’t want to plague relations with Germany, says minister

By  Trend

Berlin is an important ally of Ankara, and therefore, Turkey doesn’t want to plague relations with Germany, said Turkish Minister of European Union Affairs Omer Celik in an interview with the TRT Haber news channel.

He said that, regrettably, there is a tension in the relations between Germany and Turkey at the present time.

Celik noted that, unfortunately, Germany still doesn’t ensure the extradition of several members of the PKK [Kurdish Workers’ Party] terrorist organization to Turkey.

Germany’s demand to freeze talks with Turkey on modernization of the customs union, which is not beneficial for any side, said the minister.

“Politics shouldn’t become a weapon for the economy,” he added.

It should be noted that earlier, the German government demanded from the European Union to exert financial pressure on Ankara. Moreover, the government of Germany thinks that the EU should freeze negotiations with Turkey on the modernization of the customs union.

Earlier, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that the country will review its economic policy towards Ankara, as well as its credit and investment programs, due to the arrest of human rights activists in Turkey. The Turkish Foreign Ministry, for its part, characterized Gabriel’s statements about the revision of relations with Turkey as unacceptable, noting that they augment the current crisis between the two countries.