"The main goal of this visit is to completely leave behind this period (of tensions)," Erdogan told Turkish media. The Turkish leader will land in Berlin Thursday and hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel over the following two days. On Saturday, Erdogan will travel to Cologne to open one of Europe's largest mosques, commissioned by the Turkish-controlled Ditib organisation. To help smooth over the diplomatic reset, Erdogan could dangle the promise of a major project to modernise Turkey's rail infrastructure. In a sign of the contentious nature of his visit, Erdogan is not scheduled to make any big public speeches in Germany.

Source: Bangkok Post September 26, 2018 04:52 UTC