Germany has lost impartiality in mediating between Ankara and Athens: Çavuşoğlu

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Friday that Germany has recently lost its impartiality in its role as mediator between Türkiye and Greece and Cyprus.

"We want Germany to maintain its balanced stance in the issue of east Mediterranean and the Aegean," Çavuşoğlu said.

"Third countries, including Germany, should not be a tool to provocation and propaganda especially by Greece and Greek Cypriot side."

Speaking at a news conference alongside German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Istanbul, Çavuşoğlu said Berlin needs to listen to both sides without prejudice.

CONCERNS OVER GERMANY'S COUNTER-TERRORISM EFFORTS

Türkiye voiced concerns over Germany's counterterrorism efforts and said it expects concrete steps.

"We see an increase in (terror group) PKK's activities in Germany, and have conveyed Türkiye's concerns ... we expect concrete action," Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu said.

He said counterterrorism actions were discussed during the top diplomats' meeting, drawing attention to recent displays of banned PKK symbols and rags in Germany.

"I would like to emphasize that embracing terrorist organizations, especially PKK/YPG/PYD and FETO, is incompatible with the spirit of alliance," he said, calling for "concrete steps and active cooperation" from Berlin.

Germany's arms embargo on Türkiye is also against the "spirit of alliance," he added.

Çavuşoğlu said Türkiye expects its allies to support its anti-terror efforts rather than just offering hollow words.

"Our expectation from our allies is that when they say 'we understand your concerns,' they actually contribute, not just verbally. If you want to fight Daesh (ISIS), you should be down on the ground. The YPG is not fighting Daesh," he said.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK-listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, UK and EU-has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children. and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Türkiye, in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 injured.

TÜRKİYE'S EU MEMBERSHIP, ISLAMOPHOBIA

Türkiye also expects the European Union to lift political obstacles for its membership to the bloc, Çavuşoğlu said, and also conveyed Ankara's apprehensions over rising xenophobia and Islamophobia in Europe.

"We want the political obstacles … to be lifted. The European Union needs to take concrete and meaningful steps. The resumption of negotiations for the modernization of the Customs Union agreement and the implementation of visa liberalization are our most justified demands," he added.

He emphasized that cooperation between Türkiye and Germany can make a major difference in resolving regional problems.

"As the strongest countries in Europe, we want to improve our cooperation on regional issues," he said.

In response to a question, the Turkish minister criticized Germany's position on the Osman Kavala case.

He pointed out that many European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) verdicts have not been implemented in France, Norway, Germany and Greece.

Çavuşoğlu said all Turkish citizens have the right to apply to the ECHR once all local sources have been utilized.

"The same applies to Osman Kavala," Çavuşoğlu said.

"Why are you raising the matter about Osman Kavala? ... Because you are using Osman Kavala against Türkiye."

Kavala faced charges over the 2013 Gezi Park protests, a small number of demonstrations in Istanbul that later transformed into nationwide riots which left eight protesters and a police officer dead.

He was acquitted of all charges in February 2020, but an appeals court overturned the verdict in January.

Kavala was also accused of involvement in the 2016 defeated coup orchestrated by the FETO in Türkiye.