BERLIN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- German officials have decided to travel to Turkey from Thursday to Sunday, amid a mounting political crisis between Germany and Turkey.
The German federal press office released a statement on Tuesday confirming that German lawmakers would travel to Ankara, Diyarbakir, and Istanbul to discuss the recent Turkish referendum and its consequences. They will also address the internal developments in the country as well as the relation between the EU and Ankara.
The Turkish referendum proposed 18 key changes to the constitution, including changing the current parliamentary system to an executive presidency and presidential system.
German members of parliament (MPs) will meet with the Turkish parliamentary executive committee, the foreign ministry and several other key Turkish officials concerning the referendum. The officials are also scheduled to meet with human rights lawyers, artists, academics, as well as other representatives of civil society during their visit.
The confirmed German officials, who are to travel to Turkey as part of the official visit, include Green Party members Claudia Roth and Luise Amtsberg, Christian Democratic Union member Matthias Zimmer, as well as Social Democratic Party of Germany representative Niels Annen. The officials will not visit the Incirlik airbase, where German officials were previously denied access this month, a move that further worsened political tensions between the two nations.
