Name: German Chancellor Merz on inaugural visit to Turkey
Uploaded: 2025-10-30T09:30:57.760Z
Duration: 2 min 24 s
Description: Friedrich Merz has travelled to Turkey for his inaugural visit as Chancellor. Talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will center on the important bilateral relationship between the two countries. After all Germany has millions of citizens with Turkish roots.

Friedrich Merz has travelled to Turkey for his inaugural visit as Chancellor. Talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will center on the important bilateral relationship between the two countries. After all Germany has millions of citizens with Turkish roots.

Istanbul

German Chancellor Merz is making his inaugural visit to Turkey, where he is holding talks with President Erdogan. The agenda includes discussions on Turkey's role in regional security, its involvement in the Ukraine conflict, and its pivotal position in efforts to stabilize Gaza. Defense cooperation is also a key topic, with agreements expected on Turkey's purchase of used Eurofighter aircraft, supported by Germany and other allies.

The visit also addresses migration issues and Turkey's relationship with the European Union, though concerns over human rights and political freedoms remain obstacles. Chancellor Merz is not scheduled to meet Turkish opposition leaders, amid ongoing legal actions against prominent opposition figures such as former Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

German Chancellor Merz on inaugural visit to Turkey

The focus of Mertz's visit will be talks with President Erdogan. It's a foreign policy relationship with a special importance for Germany. Turkey is a NATO ally, which looks across the Black Sea to its north, towards both Ukraine and Russia, and could help end the war in Ukraine, something Germany's desperate to see. Turkey has supplied drones to Ukraine, but is also a big buyer of Russian energy. The 71-year-old Erdogan is one of few leaders who can talk to Volodymyr Zelensky, but also has cordial relations with Vladimir Putin. Ankara has already been pivotal in helping bring about the ceasefire in Gaza, leaning on Hamas, some of whose personnel have been based in Turkey. Turkey appears willing to supply troops for a stabilisation force in Gaza, while Germany says it wants to provide technical and financial backing for peace efforts. There's also something Turkey wants from European leaders like Mertz, closer defence cooperation. During this trip, an agreement will likely be sealed for Turkey to buy second-hand Eurofighter aircraft from allies in the Gulf, to help modernise its air force. In particular, Ankara has been unnerved by airstrikes Israel has carried out, for instance on Turkey's neighbours Iran and Syria. This week, Erdogan signed a deal with the UK to buy 20 planes, and he has recently been in Qatar and Oman, finalising the purchase of used aircraft, a deal which is being supported by Germany. Berlin is keen for Turkey to help with its migration problems, for instance by making repatriations easier, and wants it to move closer to the European Union. But those goals have repeatedly been stifled by concerns on human rights and political freedoms. Mertz is not expected to meet with Turkish opposition leaders during this visit. But just this month, new charges were announced against Ekrem İmamoğlu, the former mayor of Istanbul and a popular opponent of Erdogan, who's been in jail since March, accused of spying and corruption. Cases like that make finding the right balance in the relationship with Turkey hard for any German chancellor.

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