In his social media account X, former Turkish Diplomat Omer Murat commented on the subtleties and implications of President Erdogan’s recent visit to Germany, particularly focusing on the German Presidency’s statement and Erdogan’s interactions with German officials.
The statement from the German Presidency about Erdogan’s visit contained a sentence that tested the limits of diplomatic language: “President Steinmeier firmly emphasized Germany’s stance in response to the recent statements from Turkey regarding the Middle East conflict.” This statement, Murat points out, reflects Germany’s firm stance against Turkey’s recent pronouncements on the Middle East conflict.
Murat highlighted Erdogan’s suggestion during a press conference with Chancellor Scholz for Turkey and Germany to jointly mediate between Israel and Hamas. The lack of reference to this proposal in the official statement suggests, according to Murat, that the German side did not take Erdogan’s offer seriously, a sentiment echoed by observers aware that the real mediation efforts are centered around Qatar and Egypt.
In a further analysis, Murat noted Erdogan’s pride in discussing the Grain Agreement between Ukraine and Russia at the same press conference with Scholz. Scholz’s response, subtly reminding that grain exports continued despite the agreement not being renewed, was seen as a tactful counter.
Murat also discussed a German journalist’s provocative question about Germany supplying Eurofighters to Turkey. He interpreted Erdogan’s response, which conflated combat drones with fighter jets and boasted about Turkey’s advancements in unmanned fighter aircraft, as an attempt to cover up the underlying issue of Turkey seeking to purchase fighter jets while seemingly challenging the West. Scholz’s evasion of a direct answer to the Eurofighter question was seen as significant by Murat, highlighting the complexities of the Turkish-German diplomatic relationship.
