Over the weekend, talk of Germany offering a handout to Turkey went through the roof after Andrea Nahles, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, a junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's government, indicated that aid was a possibility, CNBC reported.
"A situation might arise where Germany needs to help Turkey, regardless of political tensions with [Turkish] President Recep Tayyip Erdogan," Nahles said. "Turkey is a NATO partner who we cannot ignore."
However, by the time Monday rolled around, the German government clarified that they were not holding any discussions on the matter of providing Turkey with financial aid. "We have demonstrated Germany's interest in Turkey's economic stability numerous times and on the part of various ministries, but the issue of Germany providing aid to Turkey is not being discussed," a statement from German Cabinet spokesperson Steffen Seibert said.
The statement later added that the issue isn't being discussed "because we're not following it at the moment."
Angliss told Radio Sputnik's By Any Means Necessary on Monday the idea of offering aid to Ankara was generally "unpopular for Germany or the Netherlands or many of the other countries that have in recent years had very public spats with Turkey."
"However, it's possible that the European Union, as a body, or through the IMF or other international organizations, that some sort of package might be worked out," Angliss told hosts Eugene Puryear and Sean Blackmon. "But at the same time, I don't think that would necessarily come cheaply to Turkey from a diplomatic standpoint."
In an attempt to solve Europe's migration crisis, Turkey signed a deal in 2016 with the EU in which it agreed to return migrants entering Greece and allow legal refugees to enter the EU. In exchange, the governing body agreed to give Turkey 6 billion euros and allow visa-free travel to Europe for Turkish citizens.
According to the BBC, 1,015,078 was the highest number of arrivals entering Greece recorded in 2015. Of that number, more than 800,000 were trafficked from Turkey to Greece by boat.
In the months following the deal, however, Turkey has repeatedly criticized the EU for not keeping its end of the bargain regarding funds and visas.
When asked if Ankara could use the EU-Turkey deal to its advantage and pressure Berlin for assistance, Angliss told Puryear that it wouldn't prove very fruitful, as EU members have installed their own border walls to prevent migrants from entering.
"Turkey has made use of this chip in the past… however, I think that now, in the meantime, Europe has been building fences, it's been building walls, it's been preparing to stop the possibility of a mass migration similar to 2015," he said, stressing that Greece would suffer greatly if Turkey were to ditch the EU deal.
"It's still possible to get into Greece, but it's very unlikely to get much further into the European Union from there under the present physical barriers," Angliss said.
Turkey's current financial issues have been exacerbated by the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who allegedly played a role in the failed 2016 Turkish coup. Ignoring US President Donald Trump's calls to release Brunson, Turkey ultimately found itself hit with tariffs and sanctions by the US, while the Turkey's Lira has suffered substantially on international markets in recent weeks.
