Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants a personal meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to redress the strained relations of their countries. This was stated by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevluth Chavusoglu, quoted by DPA, at a meeting with German journalists late last night.

In the words of Minister Erdogan would like to invite Merkel to Turkey after the negotiations for the formation of a new German government or eventually his own trip to Germany.

German-Turkish relations suffered severely after the attempted coup against Erdogan in 2016. The Turkish leader accused Germany of sheltering supporters of the Muslim preacher Fethullah Gülen, who, according to him, was behind the coup. Since then, Turkey has arrested a number of German citizens on allegations of terrorism.

Recently, however, Ankara has tended to normalize relations, and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has invited Cavusoglu to his home town of Goslar last weekend.

Erdogan has spoken on several occasions over the phone with Merkel and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the diplomat said.

The sharpest friction between the two countries is related to the detention of German journalist Deniz Yugel, who has been in a Turkish prison for almost eleven months without being charged.

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