Erdogan Of Turkey Is Scheduled To Visit Germany As The Divide Over The Israel-Hamas Conflict Deepens.

Given the diametrically opposed positions that Germany and Erdogan of Turkey take on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is anticipated in Berlin on Friday for a brief visit.

Erdogan is scheduled to meet with Germany’s mostly ceremonial president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, as well as Chancellor Olaf Scholz. After Erdogan was re-elected in May, Scholz extended an invitation for a visit.

There are more than 3 million Turks living in Germany, where Turkiye is considered an inconvenient but necessary companion. It’s a crucial NATO ally in the fight to manage the migration and refugee crisis into Europe, however there have been conflicts there recently over a range of matters.
The widening divide between the two nations’ positions on the events that followed Hamas’ strike on Israel on October 7 casts a shadow over this visit.

Germany, a strong supporter of Israel, has resisted calls for a cease-fire in favor of providing aid to Gaza’s civilian population, supporting “humanitarian pauses,” and attempting to maintain open lines of communication with neighboring nations in an effort to stop the crisis from getting worse.