Germany is reviewing export credit guarantees for German companies doing business with Turkey
(Spiegel, Ankara, 1 August 2017) As Germany and Turkey struggle with the increasingly strained state of their relationship, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek stresses the two countries' longstanding friendship in an interview with DER SPIEGEL. He also says it is Ankara's duty to rid the state of terrorist elements. The German government has announced a change of course in its policy towards Turkey. For a start, it will be reviewing export credit guarantees for German companies doing business with Turkey. Simsek noted that "Germany is the leader of the EU. We take what Germany says seriously. But the reaction of the German government clearly appears to be based on false information." Turkish authorities gave Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) a list of nearly 700 companies that supposedly support terrorism, including Daimler and BASF.