German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer met his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul in Berlin on 18 October 2004 and promised that Berlin would do everything in its power to back Türkiye when EU leaders gathered in Brussels in mid-December to vote on opening accession negotiations.
Fischer cautioned, however, that German public discussion had gotten ahead of the facts: many were treating Türkiye as a near-member rather than a candidate at the start of what could be a decade-long process.
On the prospect of a French referendum over Türkiye's candidacy, Gul called such talk premature, while acknowledging that opinions naturally varied across member states.
Gul also dismissed reports that Ankara was pursuing a purchase of 350 second-hand Leopard II tanks from Germany. The matter was "a thing of the past," he said, and it had not come up in his talks with Fischer.
The following day, Gul was scheduled to meet Christian Democrat leader Angela Merkel, who opposed full EU membership for Türkiye and instead favored a privileged partnership arrangement.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in October 2004, in its own words.