Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived in Germany for a visit aimed at reducing tensions between Ankara and Berlin.
On the eve of Erdogan’s September 27 arrival in Berlin, he wrote in an opinion piece published online by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that he wants to turn over a "new page" in diplomatic ties with Germany.
"It is our responsibility to rationally move our relations forward on the basis of our shared interests, quite apart from irrational fears," Erdogan wrote.
Relations between Turkey and German have been strained by Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian rule and his crackdown on political opponents since a failed coup against him in July 2016.
Erdogan is now pushing for rapprochement with Germany and other European countries amid a dispute with Washington that has triggered a currency crisis in Turkey.
Erdogan wrote in his opinion piece that Germany and Turkey should prevent "irresponsible policies" of the United States from setting off a "reckless trade war."
He also said he expected Berlin's support against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and that Germany should designate the movement of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen as a terrorist organization.
Ankara blames Gulen for the failed 2016 coup. The cleric rejects the claim.
