Balgarianovinite.com The Foreign Ministers of Turkiye and Germany, Hakan Fidan and Johann Wadephul, met in Berlin on Friday, just six weeks after their meeting in Ankara and the subsequent visit of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Turkiye. Common positions and topics such as NATO, trying to find a solution to end the Russia-Ukraine war, Turkiye’s accession to the European Union, and opportunities for further progress in trade and economic relations were among the topics discussed by the foreign ministers in Berlin.
During the joint press conference, broadcast live, the German Foreign Minister reiterated Berlin’s support for Turkiye’s membership in the European Union.
“Turkiye has taken on the task of being a partner in a number of key areas. From this point of view, we would like to strengthen relations between Turkiye and the European Union. Among the binding conditions for this are the Copenhagen criteria related to the rule of law. They are among the core values of the European Union (…) If Turkiye wants to join the EU, Germany will always be a partner it can trust and see as a friend,” Wadephul said, announcing that it was time to turn a new page in relations between the two countries. Germany’s Foreign Minister said his country was ready to help Turkiye on its path to the EU.
Turkiye’s Foreign Minister reiterated that his country was ready to meet the membership criteria, but that negotiations had been frozen. “There is no problem with the assessment of the criteria. There can’t be any. These are the rules of the game. If you want to join a club, it usually has rules, and you have to do the necessary. But the main issue here is that, at the moment, the process is not progressing, and no new chapters are being opened for negotiation,” Fidan said.
Turkiye, as a long-standing and reliable NATO ally, should be included in the EU’s new defence programmes, German Foreign Minister Wadephul said. “I firmly believe the EU’s SAFE programme must be opened to Turkiye and the United Kingdom as important NATO partners. We are engaged in constructive talks on this matter. As I have already emphasised, Turkiye has always been a very reliable and stable NATO partner. As the German government, we have been seeking to take our bilateral relationship to a new level and, in particular, to strengthen the security aspect,” Wadephul said.
Fidan emphasized that Turkiye’s desire to be part of this security mechanism is not only related to finding a market for its defence industry, but also to its own security.
Wadephul said that Germany and Turkiye have common goals in the context of NATO and trying to find a way to end the Russia-Ukraine war. He thanked Fidan for Turkiye’s mediation in the negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. “If Putin really wants peace, now is the time to sit down at the negotiating table,” the German Foreign Minister said. He described the Geneva negotiations on finding a way to end the Russia-Ukraine war as important progress and added that issues affecting NATO and the European Union were discussed.
Fidan, for his part, reaffirmed Turkiye’s readiness to host a new round of negotiations. “We support direct negotiations between the sides. That is why we must not run away from the negotiating table. As our President Erdogan said, there are no winners in war, and there are no losers in peace,” Fidan said.
Wadephul said Germany views Turkiye as an important “geostrategic partner” and both Turkiye and Germany noted that they would like to open a “new page” in bilateral relations.
“Germany is our largest trading partner in Europe and, globally, our largest export market. There is a trend for trade to reach USD 60 billion from USD 50 billion. We continue efforts to increase bilateral investment,” the Turkish Foreign Minister said. Fidan identified renewable energy sources, high technology, digitalisation and artificial intelligence as priority investments.
Common goals were also set with regard to the situation in the Middle East. Wadephul emphasized Turkiye’s role in persuading the Islamist group Hamas to accept the ceasefire agreement with Israel, as well as Turkiye’s contribution to finding the hostages.
Fidan’s programme in Berlin continues throughout the day, including meetings with representatives of the business community and the Turkish diaspora, as well as a visit to the Bundestag. Germany Says EU’s New Defence Programme Must Be Open to “Geostrategic Partner” Turkiye 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-11-28 15:30:13 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law