On the question of visa liberalisation it has become clear, she said, that Turkey will not meet all conditions by 1 July.

On the margins of the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan came together for a bilateral meeting, where they also discussed the latest political developments in Turkey.

Angela Merkel reported that she had "made it very clear" to President Erdoğan that stripping one quarter of Turkish MPs of their parliamentary immunity was "cause for serious concern". According to the Chancellor their talks were targeted and extremely frank, and explored the issue in depth. Yet even after the meeting questions remain unanswered, said Angela Merkel.

EU-Turkey Agreement

The Chancellor stated that the two sides must remain in dialogue. "Although it is apparent that it will not be possible to realise certain things by 1 July, by which I mean visa liberalisation, because the conditions will not be met by that date."

The path towards visa liberalisation, said the Chancellor, is based on 72 points. These are not new, but were laid out in December 2013 by the European Union. The Chancellor stressed that all points must be met before visa liberalisation is introduced.

According to Angela Merkel both sides respect their commitments under the EU-Turkey Agreement, in particular the question of voluntary humanitarian contingents. The Chancellor said her impression is that the agreement is deemed to be important and to be right not only by her side. "My impression is that the agreement is in the interests of both sides," she declared.

PKK and the Kurds

Before leaving Germany for Istanbul, Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that some developments in Turkey are of serious concern to her. The process of rapprochement and reconciliation with the Kurds, for instance, was broken off last year. It has been replaced once more by violent clashes. "But we want to see the Kurdish people with an equal place and a promising future in Turkey."

The Turkish President outlined his view of the terrorist activities of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to the Chancellor. For this reason, reported Angela Merkel, there is no question for him of changing the law on terrorism at this time. But the EU insists that Turkey change its anti-terrorism legislation. That is one of the 72 points leading to visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens.

Living democracy

The previous evening Angela Merkel met with various representatives of Turkish civil society. They explored ways of retaining or creating a living democracy. Angela Merkel declared that for a living democracy, an independent judiciary, independent media and a strong parliament are needed. Last Friday the Turkish parliament voted to strip about one quarter of MPs of their parliamentary immunity.