After partly nationalist Erdogan victory celebrations in Vienna, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) called for “respect for the host country” in a telephone call with the re-elected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “It’s a question of decency and mutual respect, and that’s what I demanded of the Turks who live in Austria. And Erdogan has a certain influence there,” Nehammer said after the APA’s Moldova summit.
During the conversation, Erdogan invited him to visit Turkey as soon as possible, Nehammer said. An appointment should now be fixed. Austria and Turkey would soon also be celebrating a hundred years of diplomatic relations.
The phone call took place on the sidelines of the European Political Community meeting in Moldova. Although Erdogan was invited to the European summit, he did not travel to Moldova. The opportunity for the talks arose after Erdogan’s re-election, according to Nehammer, “so that we can rebuild relations between Austria and Turkey.” Since the grain deal for Ukraine, Nehammer said he had “developed a very solid relationship with Erdogan over the months of the war.”
The call also offered the opportunity “to point out that when Turkish citizens celebrate on the streets in Austria, respect for the host country must not be lost”. In the phone call, he described both himself and Erdogan as “patriots,” but differentiated this from nationalism and hatred of others, Nehammer said. Erdogan received this language positively. The Turkish President explained the exuberance of the celebrations with his election victory, but also emphasized that there are no problems that cannot be solved.
Regarding the violations at the celebrations in Vienna-Favoriten, Nehammer said: “As a former Minister of the Interior, I take this very seriously. Those who violate Austrian laws must also expect the consequences of the rule of law. So, everyone who showed the wolf salute and identified will be reported accordingly and prosecuted.” There is also continuous observation of the scene by the Ministry of the Interior and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. However, one should not draw conclusions about the Turkish minority in Austria from individual provocateurs and lawbreakers and lump everyone together.
Another topic of discussion was Turkey’s role as a security partner in migration. “We continue to rely on negotiating with Erdogan on an equal footing.” During the election campaign, Erdogan’s political opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu threatened to send irregular migrants to Europe more than Erdogan, Nehammer said.
Turkey also needs support to care for and house the 2.6 million refugees in the country, Nehammer said. Erdogan is also concerned with expanding economic and trade relations and the customs union with the EU.
Regarding allegations of pushbacks at the EU’s external border between Greece and Turkey, the Chancellor said: “The pushback per se is not illegal. If an irregular migrant crosses the border and does not seek asylum, every country has the right to protect its border and bring back whoever crossed the border illegally.” Austria is committed to ensuring that asylum procedures are carried out in third countries “so that the pressure from the European external border is reduced”. This would destroy the business model of the traffickers.
Nehammer rejects calls for EU infringement proceedings against Greece. First of all, an examination of the allegations against Greek border officials would have to be awaited. “That didn’t even happen. It is therefore absurd to demand a procedure of this kind against Greece.” The ÖVP MEP Othmar Karas recently called for proceedings against Athens.