Turkey, Germany smooth relations after 'genocide' row

BERLIN

Turkey agreed Thursday to a request by German lawmakers to visit the country’s Incirlik Air Base – something which was at the center of a months-long diplomatic spat.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomed the move, which came a week after Berlin distanced itself from a controversial parliamentary motion which described the deaths of Ottoman Armenians in 1915 as “genocide”.

Steinmeier said Turkey informed the German side on Thursday of its approval of the lawmakers' request to visit German soldiers stationed in Incirlik to support the international fight against Daesh.

“I welcome that the Turkish government has now approved the visit plans of the German federal parliament’s defense committee,” he said in a statement.

“With the recent decision of the Turkish government, we have made further progress,” Steinmeier said, referring to efforts by Berlin to normalize relations with Ankara after the “genocide” row.

The German parliament’s lower house, the Bundestag, approved a motion in June which backed Armenian claims of “genocide” during the 1915 events.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government did not actively support the motion but also refrained from taking a stance against it.

Turkey sharply criticized the move and recalled its ambassador to Berlin for consultations. Ankara also suspended political dialogue with the Bundestag and reduced cooperation with Germany.

But a surprise move by the German government last week started to ease tensions between the two countries.

Steinmeier signaled his government was distancing itself from the resolution, by telling reporters on Friday that parliament’s motion was not legally binding.

“[The] German Bundestag has the right and the freedom to express itself on political issues but the Bundestag also states itself that not every resolution has a binding, legally binding, character,” he said in Berlin during a joint news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert also told reporters on Friday that "genocide" is a special legal term, which can be determined by decisions of relevant courts.

Turkey's position is that deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia in 1915 occurred after some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.

Ankara disputes the alleged genocide, but acknowledges that there were casualties on both sides during the World War I events.

Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as “genocide” but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy for both sides.

Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts, to tackle the issue.