Erdogan meets with Scholz in Istanbul, focus on Middle East

(ANSA-AFP) - ISTANBUL, OCT 19 - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today praised the cooperative "efforts" of his "dear friend," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, despite their continued disagreement over Israel's war in Gaza. The chancellor, on his second visit to Turkey since taking office, rejected the term "genocide" used by the Turkish president and argued that "Israel has the right to defend itself and must respect international law. " "The possibilities for a ceasefire must now be exploited with the release of the hostages (in the hands of) Hamas," he insisted. "More than 50,000 people have been killed, with no distinction between children, women and the elderly," Erdogan argued, justifying the 'genocide' case initiated against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
    On the other hand, the Turkish head of state welcomed the chancellor's "efforts" to lift German restrictions on arms supplies to Turkey. Ankara is hoping for progress in the purchase of 40 Eurofighter Typhoons fighter jets to compensate for delays in the delivery of American F-16 fighter jets, the sale of which was approved by Washington earlier this year.
    "Turkey is a member of NATO and that is why we always make decisions that lead to concrete deliveries," Scholz said.
    Delivery of the Eurofighters requires the agreement of the four European countries involved in their construction: the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain. (ANSA-AFP).