Germany’s Scholz on first visit to Turkey as chancellor

Ankara (dpa) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Turkey on Monday for his first visit to the country since he took office.

The brief trip is expected to be dominated by the war in Ukraine.

Ankara views itself as a mediator in the Ukraine war, which erupted on February 24 with Russia’s long-feared invasion of its neighbour. Turkey, a NATO member, enjoys close relations with both Ukraine and Russia.

Scholz was welcomed by a military guard and was first set to lay a wreath at the mausoleum of the country’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, before holding afternoon and dinner talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara. He is expected to return to Berlin in the evening.

On Thursday, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia, Dmytro Kuleba and Sergei Lavrov, met in Antalya for their first encounter since the war began.

The talks were largely inconclusive, but Turkey touted as a success the fact that they took place at all.

US President Joe Biden thanked Erdogan in a phone call and EU officials also praised the Turkish leader for bringing the warring sides together.

The Ukraine conflict has also brought Turkey closer with countries with which ties had been strained in recent years.

On Sunday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Erdogan in Istanbul in his first trip to the country. Last week, Israeli President Isaac Herzog paid his first visit.

For Scholz, Monday will mark his fifth trip outside the European Union since he succeeded Angela Merkel in December. Previously, he had been to the United States, Ukraine, Russia and Israel.