She also vowed to keep pushing for the release of five German citizens still being held in Turkey. "I have called for these cases to be resolved as quickly as possible," Merkel said, referring to the Germans who are detained. Merkel and Erdogan stressed the need to rebuild traditional ties that hit a historic low after a 2016 failed coup and subsequent crackdown in Turkey. On Turkey's economic woes, Merkel said that "Germany has an interest in an economically stable Turkey" with GDP growth. He told AFP that, even though a rapprochement was good news, those Turkish citizens "who wish for democracy and human rights... do not deserve to be abandoned by us".

Source: The Local September 28, 2018 14:37 UTC