German Foreign Minister Announces Change in Berlin's Policy Towards Turkey

In an action likely to lead to increased tension in Berlin-Ankara relations, the German Foreign Minister officially announced on Thursday that his country is changing its policy towards Turkey. He also urged President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government to 'return to the embrace of European values.' Relations between Ankara and Berlin, home to nearly three million Turkish nationals, have been particularly tense since last year's failed coup attempt in Turkey, and the tension has not diminished at any moment. Germany believes that Erdoğan's government has turned the failed coup into a pretext for cracking down on its opponents and is trying to silence 'all critical and dissenting voices' through this means. This point was reiterated on Thursday, July 20, by Sigmar Gabriel, the German Foreign Minister from the Social Democratic Party. According to AFP, Gabriel's ministry announced on Thursday that it has changed its assessment of the risks for its citizens traveling to Turkey, stating that it 'can no longer ensure the safety of its citizens' amid the mass arrests occurring in Turkey. This action will have a direct impact on Turkey's tourism industry, which is a significant source of revenue for the country. On the anniversary of the failed coup, the Turkish government announced that it had dismissed another seven thousand police, military, and government personnel. In addition to these seven thousand, nearly 50,000 people have been arrested and over 100,000 have been dismissed from their jobs in the past year. AFP noted that Gabriel's statement regarding the change in policy towards Turkey indicates that Berlin's patience regarding the mass arrests of human rights activists in Turkey has run out. On Thursday, Gabriel also threatened that Angela Merkel's government would review the guarantees for German investments in Turkey and would advise traders and investors to refrain from transferring their money to Turkey. According to Gabriel, Germany will also reassess its support for billions of euros of European investment in Turkey. The German Foreign Minister also indicated that he has not forgotten how Erdoğan compared Merkel to the Nazis and accused Erdoğan of exacerbating the crisis in relations between the two countries. Last year, Erdoğan criticized Chancellor Merkel, stating that she was fueling the disputes between Germany and Turkey by resorting to 'Nazi-like methods.' Erdoğan, who was speaking to his supporters at the time to vote 'yes' for changes to Turkey's constitution, said: 'When we call them (the Europeans) Nazis, they don't like it; they declare solidarity with each other, especially Merkel.' The Turkish President emphasized: 'But you [Merkel] have just resorted to Nazi-like methods.' Since last year, a state of emergency has been in effect in Turkey, under which many media outlets have been shut down and a large number of opponents have been arrested.