German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday hailed the purchase by NATO-member Turkey of 20 Eurofighter jets, saying they would bolster the military alliance in the face of the threat from Russia.
“Russia’s militant revisionism jeopardizes the Euro-Atlantic security as a whole… and in this context, the German government expressly welcomes Turkey’s decision… to procure 20 Eurofighter jets,” he said after talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.
“These aircraft (will) serve the collective security of the alliance,” he said at a joint news conference with Erdogan at which the pair openly disagreed over the Gaza war, which began after Hamas’s October 2023 attack.
“Israel exercised its right to self-defense, and it would have taken only one decision to avoid countless unnecessary casualties. Hamas should have released the hostages earlier and laid down its arms, then this war would have ended immediately,” Merz said of the 251 people taken hostage during the initial attack.
But Erdogan said he had to “disagree” with Merz on Gaza, saying “more than 60,000 women, children and elderly people had been murdered” by Israel’s bombs and weapons, which “again struck Gaza last night.”
“Don’t you see these things in Germany? Aren’t you following them?” he asked.
Merz also thanked Erdogan for Turkey’s role in securing the October 10 truce and expressed hope Turkey would use its influence “by persuading Hamas to enter the second phase of this agreement, because the situation remains fragile.”
Asked about the jailing of Istanbul’s opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in what critics say are a politically-motivated graft probe, Merz said decisions had been taken in Turkey “that do not yet meet the standards of the rule of law and democracy as we understand them from a European perspective.”
“I have also expressed my concern that there are issues here that do not meet our expectations, for example with regard to the independence of the judiciary. But that is the subject of the discussions we are having with each other,” he added.
A Turkish defense ministry source earlier said Ankara was hoping to secure Berlin’s help to access an EU defense scheme despite Greek opposition.
Although Turkey is technically eligible to access the bloc’s 150-billion-euro ($176-billion) Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative, it requires approval from all 27 EU members – a move which Greece has threatened to block.
Germany has signaled possible support for Turkey’s desire to access the scheme, which is aimed at strengthening European defense capabilities.
During the talks, Merz was hoping to secure Turkey’s help in taking back more rejected asylum seekers, with a German government source said Berlin was looking for “further concrete steps” from Ankara.
Berlin was also looking to resume deportations to Syria and hoping to secure support from Turkey, which has close ties to Damascus, where Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul made his first visit on Thursday and met with President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
