Turkey Ready to Work on Improvement of Relations With Germany – Foreign Minister

BERLIN (Sputnik) – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that he was ready to make efforts aimed at improving the country’s relations with Germany.

"I am ready to make all the efforts to achieve that [improvement of relations]. There are no reasons for problems between Germany and Turkey even after a difficult last year," Cavusoglu told the Spiegel magazine.

According to the minister, the country’s differences were linked to the recent Turkish referendum on granting the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan more powers.

"We did not like the ban on Turkish politicians’ rallies [with Turkish voters in Germany]. But I told my friend [German Foreign Minister] Sigmar Gabriel: let us look forward together. If you make a step toward us, we will make two toward you," Cavusoglu said.

In recent months, relations between Berlin and Ankara have become increasingly strained over Germany's criticism of mass detentions in Turkey, Ankara's accusations that Berlin provided asylum for people allegedly involved in 2016 coup attempt, as well as because of the cancellation of campaign rallies organized by the Turkish authorities across Germany ahead of the constitutional referendum.