Turkey Condemns Germany's Position to End EU Membership Negotiations

The spokesperson for the Turkish president reacted on Monday to Angela Merkel's stance to end negotiations regarding Turkey's membership in the European Union, accusing German politicians of succumbing to populism. According to the Associated Press, relations between Berlin and Ankara have been strained since last year's failed coup attempt and Germany's strong criticism of the government's crackdown on dissent, which has led to the detention of 50,000 people. Ibrahim Kalin, spokesperson for Recep Tayyip Erdogan, wrote in a brief message on Twitter: "Attacking Turkey - Erdogan and ignoring the fundamental and urgent problems of Germany and Europe is a sign of a lack of vision." He added that this is "surrendering to populism and antagonism that will only exacerbate discrimination and racism." On Sunday, during a televised debate with his electoral rival Martin Schulz from the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Merkel stated that "it is quite clear that Turkey should not join the European Union." She added that she would discuss with her EU counterparts the "possibility of ending negotiations with Turkey" and remarked, "I believe Turkey can never join the EU, and I have never believed that such a thing is possible." A similar view was expressed by Schulz in the debate, emphasizing that as chancellor, he would halt negotiations for Turkey's EU membership. The negotiation process for Turkey's EU accession began in 2005. Despite these remarks, the German news agency reported on Monday the statements of Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, emphasizing the continuation of negotiations with Turkey. Mogherini reminded that discussions with Turkey will continue, although there are disagreements on various issues. She specified that matters such as human rights, fundamental freedoms, and the status of journalists create a divide between the EU and Turkey, but discussions will persist. Relations between Germany and Turkey soured further after the detention of German citizens by the Turkish government, including Deniz Yucel, a German-Turkish journalist from Die Welt, who has been imprisoned for over 200 days and is set to be tried on charges of terrorism-related activities. Last week, two other German citizens were also detained. The Associated Press recalls that Erdogan has accused the German government of harboring the architects of last year's failed coup and members of Kurdish rebel groups, demanding their extradition. From the statements of the Turkish presidential spokesperson, it can be inferred that the German government is accused of supporting terrorism by providing a space for the activities of supporters of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) and followers of Fethullah Gülen, who is accused of orchestrating the 2016 coup. Gülen and his movement deny involvement in the coup and emphasize that their activities promote Islam, charity, and education. However, since last year's coup, the Turkish government has classified this movement as a terrorist group. In another part of his message on Twitter, Ibrahim Kalin wrote: "Is Germany, which openly supports groups like the PKK or the Gülen terrorist group, not aware that it is supporting terrorists and coup plotters, not democracy?" Last month, Erdogan urged Turkish citizens in Germany to vote against Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and its coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party, in the upcoming general elections in September. However, Kalin dismissed the importance of these elections, stating: "It doesn't matter which party wins in the German elections, as the mindset of the winner is already quite clear." In another event, the German government announced on Monday that one of the two German citizens detained by the Turkish government for "political reasons" has been released. A spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry stated: "The lawyer of one of these two individuals informed us that he has been released without any restrictions." He added that the Foreign Ministry is still awaiting confirmation of this news from independent sources. The German government announced the detention of its two citizens in Turkey on Friday, stating that they were arrested on Thursday for "political reasons."