Germany-Turkey ties extremely close and trusting: Envoy

Germany's envoy in Turkey said on Aug. 4 that he was "pleased" that bilateral relations between Turkey and Germany are "extremely close and trusting."

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"Our political relations are extremely close at all levels of government and covering also non-governmental organizations," Jurgen Schulz told reporters in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Speaking on the forest fires in southern Turkey that have been burning for the last several days, the ambassador conveyed his "heartfelt condolences" to the victims.

He said Germany feels "very much with the people of Turkey," reminding of the recent catastrophic floods in western Germany and Belgium, which caused the death of over 180 people.

"This was a big catastrophe in our own country. And as we are in the process of dealing with the aftermath of this catastrophe, we feel very much with the people of Turkey who are now in the midst of another catastrophe here in your country. And we wish everybody well," he told reporters.

Bilateral relations

Underlining that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel "have regular exchanges," Schulz said: "They're on the phone, on video conferences regularly. And they both appreciate to exchange their views."

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"They do not always agree. That's part of life. That's pretty natural. But, they do have these regular exchanges and I think this is very, very important for both of our countries," he added.

On next month's general elections in Germany, in which Merkel is not seeking a new term, Schulz said he could not make any predictions. But, he added: "Whoever follow Chancellor Merkel and our Cabinet, I think one thing is sure that these close political ties and...

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