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The atmosphere was tense between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with the two leaders agreeing to disagree on the Middle East at a press conference ahead of the chancellor's working dinner.
"There is no place for anti-Semitism in our country - whether politically or religiously motivated, from the right or the left, from within or without." emphasized the German chancellor and reiterated Germany's "unwavering solidarity" with Israel.
"Israel's right to exist is indisputable. Israel has the right to defend itself under international law. At the same time, we say that every life is equally important and, just as we are against anti-Semitism in Germany, we are also against the marginalization of the five million Muslims living in the country," he added.
"No one is talking about the thousands of Palestinians that Israel has killed," countered Mr. Erdogan, referring to the Palestinian "hostages" held by the Israelis in prisons and stressing that Turkey - unlike Germany. However, both leaders agreed that the only possible solution for the region is that of two states.
While Tayyip Erdoğan, for his part, argued that the world "constantly talks about Hamas but is silent about Israel's response and the deaths in Gaza" and referred to a huge disparity in equipment between the two sides, arguing that the Israelis have nuclear weapons but they lie and deny it. Gaza actually no longer exists. It's flattened. There are 13,000 dead Palestinians, women, elderly and children, as well as hostages on the Israeli side," he said, referring to the destruction of hospitals, churches and mosques.
Although bombing hospitals and killing children are not permitted by the Torah. Not even in the Declaration of Human Rights. Shall we shut up? If we don't speak, if we do nothing, we will pay the price, as history shows. And the psychology of guilt is not the right approach. We are not guilty of Israel. If we were, we probably wouldn't be able to speak so clearly. We have not experienced the Holocaust. It is important to respect people. And as Prime Minister I have spoken clearly against anti-Semitism. We have no guilt towards anyone", he underlined, indirectly referring to Germany and the Holocaust of the Jews by the Nazis.
However, the two politicians emphasized that they want to cooperate to achieve "humanitarian ceasefires" in the region, while the Turkish president also spoke about a ceasefire.
"If Turkey and Germany succeed, then we can free the region from ongoing conflicts." noted Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan's response when asked about the statements about Israel
A German journalist asked the Turkish president to explain his recent statements about Israel's "terrorist state", "genocide" and "fascism", asking whether he supports the right of the state of Israel to exist and why he describes Hamas as a "liberating force". ", when its NATO partners consider it a terrorist organization.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan responded by emphasizing that Turkey is not "any NATO country, but one of the five most important", he recalled that "thanks to Turkey" 3.5 million tons of grain were exported from Ukraine to Europe and Africa and he referenced the thousands of Palestinians killed by Israel and the bombing of hospitals, churches and mosques.
"As a Muslim, I have a problem with that, you as a Christian, don't you? But there is no reaction to this, when there should be", he said addressing the journalist and emphasized that he does not separate Muslims and Christians. Regarding the possibility of his country buying Eurofighter fighter jets, whose co-producer is also Germany, he stated that "fighters are also produced by other countries, we can buy elsewhere.", to conclude by instructing the journalist: " You have to ask. questions that are human. Questions that show you have a conscience for us to answer them, not questions like that," he said.
Mr. Solz, however, thanked his interlocutor for Turkey's mediation in the export of grain from Ukraine and added that Berlin is seeking new arrangements, since Russia has withdrawn from the relevant agreement a few months ago.
During the press conference, the issue of the European perspective of Turkey, which has been a candidate for EU membership since 1999, was also raised.
"We hope that the negotiations will continue, the Customs Union will be modernized and the travel visa regime will be liberalized. For 52 years we have tried to get closer, the Turkish president emphasized. Referring to the problems with the export of German weapons systems to Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed the hope that "our NATO partner Germany will take decisive steps for progress".
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