this is d.w. news live from berlin a diplomatic reception here in the german capital of the turkish president as a tired and wants bid for better relations with the german government today turkey's president is on a state visit to germany that's being overshadowed by strained relations between the two countries we will have extensive live coverage of this controversy old business.

i'm brian thomas thanks for being with us turkish president russian tired everyone has kicked off his bridge building trip to germany with a visit to the presidential palace everyone was hosted by president fox also steinmeyer at bellevue palace in a visit aimed at improving bilateral ties relations between ankara and berlin were put under huge strain after turkey imprisoned hundreds of thousands of people including scores of german citizens following the fails to of twenty sixteen now despite this everyone was received with full military honors before heading in for closed door talks with president steinmeyer a red top carpet was rolled out for his first state visit as turkish president but not everyone is behind this decision protests have started and a number of politicians are boycotting today's events. let's go live to our correspondent on the on the mark who is outside bellevue palace right now foggy and president ed was welcome at bellevue with full military honors highly

controversial why that's true drew me really has rolled out the red carpet for the turkish president there too on but the german side has kept on saying and keeps on saying that this is not a sign of normalization but that this could form the beginning of a pro says of improving the difficult relationship to turkey a relationship that was under pressure because turkey has used nat see comparisons when talking about german politics politicians turkey has rested german citizens to still five german citizens in turkish prisons and cherokee has violated in the eyes of germany human rights and freedom of press in turkey a sovereign after this official state welcome what's in store for the rest of the day well off to talk with president here

behind me in the value palace which president and will then go to the chancellor you he will meet for talks he will give a press conference and in the evening he will come back here to the bellevue palace then there will be a state dinner also controversial many politicians have decided not to attend this dinner. or one of them saying that they don't want to give the background for propaganda of president everyone here in germany obvious on market for us and bellevue palace thanks so very much for now and our political correspondent peter craven has been talking with international journalists about eddie long's visit here in germany and d.-w. news talk show quadriga will have more live coverage first let's join peter and quadriga which asks the question aired on in germany friend or foe.

well in a very warm welcome indeed to quadriga coming to you from the hall to berlin and this week to focus on the controversial state visit to germany by turkish president richard tired head of one who is being given the full red carpet treatment and on the eve of his visit the turkish media said that he wants to put an end to recent tensions between ankara and berlin but after a vitriolic verbal attacks on germany the arrests of german citizens on the brutal crackdown on the turkish opposition can the president add won't be taken at his word the fact is the two sides need each other more than ever before turkey is facing a crippling economic crisis and wants germany's backing berland for its ankara to release those german prisoners in return to the rule of law is a deal possible when a question here on this week is in germany friend or foe and to discuss that

question i'm joined here in the studio by three excellent observers and analysts of all things turkish beginning with maximally i'm paul turkey correspondent for the weekly news magazine. who says the german government should use add to one's state visit to strengthen democracy in. both the witnesses georgia roloson de eye color specialist on german turkish relations formerly based in ankara now with d.w. here in berlin and dale believes that everyone is neither a friend nor of important strategic interest foremost germany to talk with the circuitry president but not she says that the crisis around will welcome to to direct car bomb from the has the berlin based twenty school of governments who argues that it's high time for the german government to holds democratic values and human rights instead of its economic political and security interests in its dealings with the. welcome once again to all three of you about to begin with you

deliver might just tell us why president one's visit to germany stage a visit to germany is so important and so controversial. well it is to start from the turkish perspective from the turkish government's perspective it is very important for for for the government for various reasons first of all of course there's a coming crisis in turkey as we know and the prospects for the prospects are very dark and you know it's not expected to go to improve anytime soon and you know he's facing. a huge economic crisis and this is a government which actually has been has succeeded to remain in power for a very long time partly because of its economic you know for the success of the economy so that's one thing and then of course the deterioration of lation is with the u.s. . is in

a search for new or strengthen you know sort of a new partners treaty or to say to improve relations with all the partners. so there is that from the perspective of the german government it is i mean this the reasons are against similar right i mean turkey is an important there's of course always do your strategy the sort of magic word that i believe that is a bit of misfortune for turkey really because turkey is just such a thick importance has always. enabled turkish government kurds one our past ones to get away with with very poor human rights record like of democracy rule of like cetera so there's that at a time when the rest of the middle east is in turmoil turkey is the stability in turkey is very important for germany and the other european governments and of course we know that there's a large presence presence of turkish community here extra so for both sides it's an imp. didn't raise it important time there but let's be honest relations they are

between the two sides germany and turkey have in recent times in the last two years also been awful is this time now lots of people are saying it is a time for a reset in relations between the two songs i understand that germany views it as a momentum where both sides have to sit and talk about it because it's not germany i mean it's aired on who wanted to visit germany so it's understandable that the german government would want to accept add on in berlin if you want to visit germany then you come let's say let's go let's go to strike the the invitation was issued by the german side in the first instance and i as far as i know the background information we have is that after the referendum cold's stein my and wanted to clarify the situation because the tension was high and i don't think that i don't really believed that germany would take serious steps detention after

detention you know when i don't close to my last time i said that it was not my fault frankly at this time my german press a german has it and so as far as we know time i said that it was not a good momentum so he called again and as far as i remember it was just when the on the day of the elections the early elections were announced an official close to i was in berlin trying to settle the invitation so it was to sum up it was as one who wanted to come to berlin to talk about the relations and it's not new it's like it's happened at the beginning of this year he wants to settle the tension because he i think he believes that it was just related to regarding you know the referendum and the domestic issues that it was not a bilateral tension he would you believe that you could overcome this conflict do you agree mark to be honest that's a likely outcome. this meeting here or the meetings that we aren't dissipate here

in berlin well i agree to the extent that it's like a purely opportunistic of both sides and especially of the turkish side i mean at one was hitting hard against germany when he thought this will serve his election campaign and then he made a u. turn and now he's begun because he knows that he's in trouble and he has so many enemies and he's so lonely so suddenly he needs a new friend and a friend with money means that germany has him over a barrel of his banking that means that germany can take certain extent of peace and armies against iran i think that's that's why this state with that there is a certain chance for germany to to also bring forward things that are on the table for quite some some while and i'm thinking of like questions about democracy about human rights about the state of law in to keep to to press and to push everyone in in that respect at least to a certain extent and they should do their utmost to achieve this because i think at the moment add on for sure. is that the weaker.

person in these negotiations and it gives a certain room of maneuver for the german side i wouldn't expect too much but it could be a beginning just just give me an idea of what kind of turkish president we're dealing with his mr rather one that desperate to dictator and all thora tarion leader or an autocrat which of the monica's that are used to. go i don't know how i think we need to quantify we need to know who we're dealing with you know what is self perception what's the passwords are really the thing to to again i used to call him in my articles i call him at this point i call him an authoritarian leader i think that what he is he's i believe he's certainly not a democrat and turkey has arrested thirty german citizens a different a more than thirty five are still in turkish right jails as far as i know prisons into sectarian and other is where this should germany be rolling out the red carpet to a man like this. let it go up at. but for the back it's like it germans and other foreign

foreigners who are in jail into again this is a clear that this would would would people call hostage diplomacy so add on sales people to get something for it and that is of course unacceptable in international relations and unacceptable for a country that claims to be a democracy so this is something which germany has to oppose the red carpet quest. i don't know if it necessarily has to be a red carpet i don't know if it had to be a state was it or if i were working with it that would have been a target if that has been the case in the in the past would have been enough i would say yes i don't necessarily think it has to be a state with with it with a red carpet but in any case i think there is no other way then than doing these kind of things talking to those kind of people i mean error is not the only autocrat out there is putin who is far worse than ever and you have you have seen ping in china you have now donald trump i mean if you start only talking to

democrats will be alone at the table very soon ok so this state was it is needed what is what is important now is is the content and the outcome and there i have i expect the german government to be very local ok but just to get a taste of how bad relations between ankara and berlin have been let's go back to early two thousand and seven seeing that last year of course in common and a comment from president had one of the germany refused to permit campaign speeches in german cities by other one of the turkish politicians this isn't what he had to say. germany you have no relation whatsoever to democracy. and you should know that your current actions are no different from those of the nazi period. do you like or for that kind of thing several times now it's not just an isolated occasion it gives one the

impression that president one is a man who cannot be trusted that he can turn his back away from europe and european values values of the west at any time exactly and it's not just by discourse but it by by his actions policies. that speak to this he is you know he is known to make you know u. turns is known to. sort of not not to be reliable and therefore i think what needs what needs to be done from the german perspective is for for the german government to stick to its own principles and that values i mean going back to what my thinking is that earlier there are two important distinctions between turkey and the other countries you mentioned china russia u.s. one that turkey is still formally in the e.u. accession country so it is it should be expect it should be forced to you know your torso micromanager member nato member to it and secondly it is reliant on like putting it is completely dependent on you know germany and the e.u.

this is really an opportunity to press hard. to try to get whatever you know concession that the german government can get and not just for german citizens i mean i find obviously it is certainly disconcerting from the german perspective that german citizens are in jail in turkey but also that elected parliamentarians kurdish part of ontarians elected kurdish mayors journalists academics you know i mean you name it that these people are injured and these are europeans to right because there is also council member and so i think their dens to be a holistic approach here not to single out you know sort of german citizens but to really pressure to add on to change of course you will never be a democrat he will make such.