Turkish foreign minister meets German counterpart in Doha amid EU row

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu met his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle today on the sidelines of the "Friends of Syria" core group meeting in Doha to discuss recent tensions between the two countries. The meeting came a day after Turkey and Germany summoned each other's ambassadors.

Both foreign ministers told the press after the meeting that the atmosphere was "firendly" and as two allies they had discussed every matter, daily Hürriyet reported.

Meanwhile, German Ambassador Eberhard Pohl has met today with Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu in Ankara. Pohl was summoned yesterday but could not attend the meeting as he was out of the Turkish capital. The critical meeting lasted around hour-and-a-half. Sinirlioğlu was expected to address Germany's decision to veto the opening of the chapter on regional policies during the meeting.

Germany insisted last week on halting negotiations with Turkey as a response to Ankara’s recent police crackdown on Gezi Park protesters as the EU was set to open talks on Chapter 22 next week, which would be the first new chapter in nearly 2.5 years. Berlin's decision has stirred a huge reaction in Ankara with EU Minister Egemen Bağış linking Berlin's move to the campaign for upcoming parliamentary elections in Germany.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) had expressed their rejection of Turkey's EU membership in their electoral program.

The German Foreign Ministry summoned Turkish ambassador Hüseyin Avni Karslıoğlu yesterday to complain about Bağış's remarks.

No crisis: Turkish EU Minister

For his part, Bağış continued to tone down his rhetoric today, saying that the row over Turkey's accession process could not be described as a "crisis." "We can have different opinions on different matters. But we discuss, talk about it and resolve it at some point as two allies," Bağış told reporters in Istanbul.

He nevertheless defended his statements that have caused much unease in Berlin. "As the chief negotiator, I am obligated to remind [the EU of] the pacta sunt servanda [agreements must be kept] principle that the chancellor always emphasizes. May no one expect me to act as the minister of the EU responsible for Turkey," he added, arguing that what he said was in Turkey's best interest. "The instruction given to us by our prime minister is to stay upright. This is what we are trying to do," he said.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com
22/6/13
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Related:

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• EU Enlargement Commissioner calls for removing obstacles in Turkey negotiations.....

• Ankara mulls cutting political ties with EU if chapter vetoed

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