Merkel holds farewell meeting with Erdogan days ahead of leaving office
October 18, 2021, 12:13 am

Merkel holds farewell meeting with Erdogan days ahead of leaving office

Angela Merkel-Recep Tayyip Erdogan/Shutterstock

The We For News reported that the outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a farewell meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, just days ahead of her departure from the post after 16 years in office.

Xinhua news agency reported that during their meeting at the Huber Presidential Mansion along the shores of the Bosphorus Strait, the two leaders on Saturday discussed ties between Turkey and Germany, Ankara’s membership bid to the European Union, irregular migration, and a series of regional issues.

The Turkish leader said at a joint press conference with Merkel that racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and discrimination remain the main problem for the Turkish community in Europe, calling on European nations to take effective measures against all discriminatory treatments and racist attacks.

Erdogan expressed hope that the successful process carried out with the outgoing Chancellor would continue with the new German government in the upcoming period.

For her part, Merkel said that the EU’s support to Turkey on irregular migration would continue, noting “our peace and security are attached to the other”.

Turkey, a key transit point for asylum seekers on their way to Europe, hosts more than 4 million refugees, including 3.6 million Syrians, within its borders. The country has been lately witnessing an increased influx of Afghan refugees fleeing turmoil in their homeland.

The We For News mentioned, Angela Merkel will retire from politics after 16 years as Chancellor following the national elections held in September.

It noted, Angela Merkel has already made farewell visits to Israel, Italy, Belgium and Spain.

Source: wefornews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.