STORY: Türkiye calls for greater defense cooperation with Germany
SHOOTING TIME: April 24, 2024
DATELINE: April 25, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:48
LOCATION: Ankara
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the bilateral meeting of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with his visiting German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Türkiye (courtesy of Turkish Presidency)
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President (courtesy of ihlas News Agency)
3. various of the joint press conference of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with his visiting German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Türkiye (courtesy of ihlas News Agency)
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President (courtesy of ihlas News Agency)
5. various of the speech of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Türkiye (courtesy of ihlas News Agency)

STORYLINE:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called for greater cooperation between Türkiye and Germany in the defense industry.

Erdogan made the remarks at a joint press conference with his visiting German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President
"I would like to completely remove the restrictions we face in the defense industry from our agenda. We hope that Türkiye and Germany will talk about joint production projects, especially in the field of defense." (01:13-01:32) 

Since 2016, Germany has implemented a very restrictive policy for arms exports to Türkiye, especially after the Turkish military offensive in the northern Syrian region of Afrin targeting Kurdish militia groups, particularly the People's Defense Units (YPG).

SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President
"We have intensive relations with our NATO ally Germany in every field, including security economy, culture, and science. We aim to increase our bilateral trade volume from 50 billion dollars to 60 billion dollars in a balanced manner. In this respect, I attach special importance to increasing mutual investments." (00:34-01:01)

Steinmeier, for his part, said Türkiye and Germany are two countries that are "indispensable for each other," and they do "need each other."

"In these very difficult times, we need to give importance and momentum to Turkish-German relations again," he said.

Referring to the recent developments in Gaza, Steinmeier said, "We have to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza."

The two also agreed that without a political solution for the Palestinians, there would be no peace for Israel in the medium and long term. "This political solution can only lie in the two-state solution," said Steinmeier.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ankara.
(XHTV)