Merkel and Erdogan Clash in Berlin Over Turkish Reporter

(Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel clashed with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over a Turkish journalist whose presence threatened to disrupt his visit to Berlin, underscoring deep differences standing in the way of improved relations.

At a joint news conference against the backdrop of anti-Erdogan protests in the German capital, the two leaders differed over democratic standards, press freedom and the rule of law. The split threatened to derail an attempt at reconciliation by Erdogan, who is under pressure from U.S. sanctions and Turkey’s economic woes.

The case of Turkish journalist Can Dundar cast a shadow over Friday’s meeting amid media reports that Erdogan threatened to cancel the press conference if the reporter attended. A former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper who now lives in Germany, Dundar spent three months in jail for reporting on Turkish arms shipments to Syria.

Freed pending trial in February 2016, he was subsequently sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison.

Dundar said in a video on his Twitter account that he’d decided not to attend after learning of Erdogan’s threat to boycott. Merkel addressed the case, telling reporters “I can confirm” that she and Erdogan disagree over it.

“This person has been convicted. He’s a spy. He has revealed state secrets,” Erdogan said. It’s Turkey’s “most natural right” to request his extradition, he said.

‘Profound Differences’

Rule-of-law issues, including Merkel’s demand to free German citizens imprisoned in Turkey, dominated the media appearance, which at one point was disrupted by a protester who was hauled out by security. Issues about regional cooperation on Syria and Turkey’s economy took second billing.

“On the one hand, there’s a shared strategic interest in good relations,” but there also are “profound differences” on what constitutes “a free, democratic, open society,” Merkel said.

The chancellor, whose country is Turkey’s biggest economic partner, offered expanded economic cooperation, with a dormant German-Turkish commission to hold its first meeting and Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, a Merkel confidant, set to head a delegation to Turkey in October.

The two leaders also agreed to try hold a meeting on the war in Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron this fall.

Trump Factor

Merkel and Erdogan are attempting to ease tension a year after Erdogan accused German officials of using Nazi methods. It was meant to signal a turnaround from Turkish-EU hostility over the past year and a contrast to Erdogan’s brief encounter in New York with Donald Trump, a NATO ally he has accused of waging “economic warfare” against Turkey.

Erdogan will be honored Friday evening with a state dinner in Berlin hosted by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, which has been boycotted by several opposition leaders. Merkel also doesn’t plan to attend.

On Saturday, after breakfast with Merkel in Berlin, Erdogan will attend a mosque opening in Cologne, a sign of mutual ties symbolized by 2.8 million residents of Turkish descent in Germany and the presence of almost 7,000 German companies in Turkey.

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.