The German Left Party criticised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's planned visit to Germany. Erdoğan has "a history of supporting terror" in the Middle East and is suppressing the opposition in his own country, said the co-chair of the party, Martin Schirdewan, in Berlin on Monday.

"Someone who, like Erdoğan, suppresses the democratic opposition at home, who bombs the Kurds in northern Iraq and Syria and helped pave the way for ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, cannot be a partner for a credible German foreign policy in my opinion," said Schirdewan. “On the contrary, a credible German foreign policy would show a clear stance against this state visit and not roll out the red carpet for Erdoğan. Erdoğan must not be a normal state guest for Germany," the politician warned. He stated that there were fears of new "dirty deals" between the German government and the Turkish president.

Erdoğan is coming to Berlin this Friday. At a dinner in the Federal Chancellery, Olaf Scholz wants to discuss "the entire range of political issues" that affect both countries with Erdoğan. Among other things, the different attitudes towards the Middle East war, the future of the EU-Turkey agreement on migration management and cooperation within NATO will be discussed. In addition to the Chancellor, the Turkish president will also meet German President Frank Walter Steinmeier. Various organisations, including the "Lift the PKK ban" campaign and the anti-militarist alliance "Disarm Rheinmetall", have announced protests against Erdoğan's visit.