German chancellor to visit Turkiye next week

BERLIN (AA) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will make his first official visit to Turkiye next week, a deputy government spokesman announced on Friday.

Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Wolfgang Buchner said the chancellor will travel to Ankara on Monday for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but he did not give any further details about the visit.

Asked about Turkiye’s diplomatic efforts for a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine, Buchner underlined the German government’s support for these talks.

“Of course, in principle, we’re supporting every diplomatic effort to end Russia’s war of aggression,” he stressed.

Andrea Sasse, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, also told reporters that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has been in close contact with his Turkish and Ukrainian counterparts in the last couple of days.

Following Turkiye’s efforts, Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers met in Antalya on Thursday, for their first face-to-face meeting since the war started on Feb. 24, but talks have not yielded a breakthrough.

At least 549 civilians have been killed and more than 950 others injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to UN figures.

Over 2.5 million Ukrainians have also fled to neighboring countries, the UN refugee agency said on Friday.