Why Berlin 'Has No Other Choice But to Cooperate With Turkey on Middle East'

Nejat Tarakci, a Turkish expert on geopolitics and political strategy, commented on the deepening crisis in relations between Berlin and Ankara.

In particular, he cited recent stern rhetoric by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Christian Democratic Union member Roderich Kiesewetter toward Turkey. Kiesewetter's statement was related to Turkey's possible withdrawal from NATO.

"The support that Germany gives to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, [blacklisted by Ankara as a terrorist organization] is aimed at weakening Turkey's position in the Middle East; also, it is an attempt to gain advantages in the competition with America at the expense of Turkey," he said.

Tarakci added that "in any case, Germany is not the country that will decide the issue of Turkey's withdrawal from NATO."

"The procedure of joining NATO is defined quite clearly, something which is not the case with the procedure of leaving the alliance. As for the US, if it wants it can make Turkey withdraw from NATO," he said.

Noting that Germany's anti-Turkish position is a consequence of Berlin's view that it does not need Ankara, Tarakci recalled that "Turkey allowed Germany to use its military bases within NATO" but that "now a decision was made to withdraw German servicemen from there."

"At the moment, Germany has no need for Turkey within NATO, which is why I think German politicians made the statements about Turkey's possible withdrawal from the alliance. However, Germany should not forget that if it wants to become a truly significant force in the Middle East, it will have no other choice but to cooperate with Turkey," he said.

According to him, "despite its economic resources, Germany will never be able to take the place of America; it is under some kind of occupation by the US since a large number of US military bases and units are located on its borders."

"That's why apart from its economic levers of influence, Germany has no other powerful mechanisms on the global stage," Tarakci concluded.

Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel made it plain that "the EU would not enter into talks with Ankara on modernizing the existing Customs Union, due to recent political tensions, the Daily Sabah newspaper reported.

Roderich Kiesewetter of Germany's Christian Democratic Union party, for his part, said that he does not rule out that Turkey may leave NATO in the not-so-distant future.

The relations between Ankara and Berlin have been deteriorating for some time over a number of issues, with the most recent blows hitting in July, after German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel promised to review Berlin's policy toward Turkey due to the detention of six human rights activists in Ankara on July 5, including Amnesty International's Turkey director Idil Eser and German human rights activist Peter Steudtner, under the suspicion of assisting a terrorist group.

In May, Ankara canceled a German delegation's visit to the Incirlik military airfield in Turkey, where German military personnel and jets were stationed, a day before the visit was scheduled to begin. In early June, Berlin responded to Ankara's move by announcing the withdrawal of its troops from the base, which started in July.