In an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt entitled “Turkey bets on Berlin”, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar praised Berlin’s mediating role, stressing that “Germany is for us the most important ally in European security policy.”

Germany’s cautious mediation strategy in the eastern Mediterranean has a positive impact on Turkey, the Turkish Minister said. Hulusi Akar emphasises that Berlin has taken on a positive and constructive role in the confrontation with Greece, but also with other countries of the eastern Mediterranean. Akar appeared satisfied with the efforts of Germany and “especially Chancellor Merkel to find a solution in the eastern Mediterranean “.

The German government could play a key role in shaping European policy towards Turkey,” the paper writes, adding that “even in the first talks on a possible update of the EU-Turkey refugee agreement, Ankara prefers to negotiate with the EU mainly via Angela Merkel.”

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Hulusi Akar characterised the return of Athens and Ankara to the negotiating table with informal talks “an important step that proves political will”. However, he continued by criticising the deployment of Greek forces on demilitarized islands, as he called them, as well as the expansion of Greek airspace to ten miles.

The Turkish Defence Minister urged Brussels not to make the Greek-Turkish bilateral issue a European problem noting that “the EU must evaluate the talks objectively and without prejudice without rushing to throw the card of European solidarity on the table.”