Turkey to Germany: Time for ‘new beginning’

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu is scheduled to visit his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, on Saturday. He said it was time for a “new beginning” in relations between Ankara and Berlin. While both countries are interested in a fresh start, it’s only possible “if we break the current crisis spiral in our relationship,” Cavusoglu wrote in an op-ed for Germany’s Funke Mediengruppe on Friday. "It is not the time for bullhorn diplomacy," the minister wrote, ahead of the meeting in Gabriel’s home town of Goslar. Bilateral relations strained last year after local German governments banned pro-Erdogan rallies ahead of a referendum that expanded the Turkish president’s powers. Tensions also flared after a number of German-Turkish nationals were arrested by authorities in Ankara.