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Wadephul during a speech in the Bundestag: “Base style and communication on moderation from the outset”
Photo: Monika Skolimowska/ DPA
The CDU foreign expert Johann Wadephul has criticized the behavior of Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) during her visits to Turkey and Greece.
The fact that Baerbock had publicly criticized Turkey from Athens was "unhelpful," the CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader told the AFP news agency on Sunday.
"We need both countries as permanent partners - not only, but above all in NATO."
"Anyone who combines trips to these two countries must base their style and communication on moderation from the outset," said Wadephul.
It was wrong to publicly criticize Turkey from Greek soil.
"As correct as the position may be, clever foreign policy advocates it in personal discussions."
Baerbock clearly rejected Turkish territorial claims in the Aegean on Friday in Athens.
At a subsequent meeting in Istanbul, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu accused her of being one-sided: he accused the German government of having given up its traditional mediating role in the Greek-Turkish disagreements.
Left-wing politician calls for a tougher pace
Criticism of Baerbock's trip also came from the Left Party.
"There is no reason to sugarcoat Baerbock's Turkey policy as long as Erdoğan's criticism of Turkey has no consequences," said the foreign expert for the left-wing parliamentary group, Sevim Dagdelen, of the AFP news agency.
"Both German arms exports and financial aid are continuing, and the wars of aggression by NATO partner Turkey, both in Iraq and in Syria, which violate international law, are still not being condemned as such," she criticized.
Baerbock must now follow up their critical words with action.
Praise from the Turkish opposition
Gökay Sofuoğlu, head of the Turkish community in Germany, had also criticized Baerbock for leaving the "language of diplomacy" along with Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu.
Apparently he fears that the population of Turkish origin could suffer from "these conditions," according to Sofuoğlu.
The Turkish opposition, on the other hand, praised the German foreign minister for her clear words the day before: "Direct statements and confrontation are sometimes unavoidable, not just necessary," said the co-chair of the pro-Kurdish party HDP, Mithat Sancar, after a meeting with Baerbock.
Baerbock is silent on the argument
At the end of her visit on Saturday, Baerbock visited a community center for refugees from Syria and Iraq and a counseling center for women who have been victims of domestic violence.
She no longer commented on her differences of opinion with the Turkish government line, but emphasized the importance of "civil society exchange" as "the heart of our togetherness".
The German-Turkish relations are based on the coexistence of people and are "so much more than the construction sites," said the minister.
That's why it's important to her to meet local people.
hpp/afp/dpa