Why Germany Is Strengthening Its Alliance With Erdoğan’s Turkey
German-Turkish relations have long been strained due to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s military operations in Syria, his overt hostility toward Israel, and his autocratic rule at home. Erdoğan is still the same, yet Germany is now interested in increasing its military cooperation with Turkey.
At the end of October, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met with Erdoğan to discuss increased military cooperation. Around the same time, the European Commission confirmed its receipt of Turkey’s application to participate in the Security Action for Europe (safe) program, which offers Europe’s defense industry loans totaling up to €150 billion.
Weeks earlier, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said: “We would be delighted if our two defense industries could cooperate with each other. You could almost ask: Who else would we work with on this?”
A high-ranking official at the German Armed Forces Procurement Office in Koblenz told Deutsche Welle: “Of course, Turkey must initiate a process of democratization. But let’s be honest: what options do we have at the end of the day? We’re not going to say to the U.S., ‘We’re no longer going to buy your weapons systems because you’re deporting people.’”
In light of Turkey’s support for Hamas and its accusations against Israel, such statements should alarm the world. This reviving relationship spells doom for Middle Eastern Jews and global peace.
This is not about seeking peaceful alliances between nations. Much more strategic thinking is at play.
German defense expert Benedikt Meng told Deutsche Welle: “As Turkey is also one of nato’s largest partners and a key player in the Middle East and the Caucasus, deeper defense and industrial policy relations are definitely advantageous in terms of common security interests.”
A Troubling Partnership
Turkey has long been a major importer of German weaponry. Its military boasts around 330 Leopard 2 tanks and 350 Leopard 1 tanks, both of which are German-made. In 2018 and 2019, Erdoğan used German-made tanks to fight Kurdish forces (an ally of the United States) in Syria. This violation of international law forced Germany to impose a partial arms embargo on Turkey.
Germany drastically increased arms exports to Turkey again last year, ahead of then Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s meeting with Erdoğan in October 2024. By the end of the year, Germany had approved arms exports totaling $242.5 million—the highest level since 2006.
Less than two months later, Turkey played a critical role in enabling Syrian rebels to overthrow the Assad government. The new government went on a killing spree in April, murdering dozens of Druze—an ethnic minority in Syria. Turkey looked the other way while Israel intervened to stop the massacre.
Earlier this month, Turkey began training Syrian troops.
Despite the despicable acts of violence and terrorist activities of Syria’s new president, Wadephul traveled to Damascus to discuss bilateral relations at the end of October, as Chancellor Merz discussed increased cooperation regarding Syria.
Meanwhile, Erdoğan is becoming more authoritarian and more vocal about his hatred for the Israeli government.
Earlier this week, the Turkish judiciary issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials—accusing them of genocide. Turkish prosecutors also issued an indictment against a major political opponent of Erdoğan, seeking a prison sentence of 2,352 years on 142 charges.
Erdoğan is an anti-Semitic autocrat, but German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier calls him a “valued friend” and strategic partner in the region.
These two countries are seeking to deepen their military cooperation even more—and this time, Germany will benefit as well.
Increased Military Cooperation
The war in Ukraine has shown not only the importance of quality military weaponry but also the high demand for ammunition. To help supply that demand, Turkish company Repkon has agreed to produce 155-mm artillery ammunition in Germany, starting in 2027.
Turkish media called this a “technology transfer” (likely an exaggeration).
For years, Turkey’s TB2 drones have used German sensors. Today, these drones are in high demand and have been employed on multiple battlefields. This is one area where Turkey could return the favor and help arm its arms supplier. “Turkey is quite advanced in this area,” an anonymous Bundeswehr official told Deutsche Welle. “In terms of market analysis and cooperation opportunities, I definitely see Turkey as a player that would be well worth talking to in the near future.”
Partnerships such as this one can potentially determine the outcomes of wars. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in “Germany’s Backing Caused Syria’s Collapse”:
In 2020, Turkey started using the Bayraktar TB2 drones and anka-s of the Turkish Aerospace Industries extensively in Syria during its Operation Spring Shield. Global analysts were surprised at the speed at which Turkey eliminated key military assets of the Assad regime and Russia.
Turkish drones have become world famous. “The whole world is a customer,” the drone’s designer told Reuters in May 2022. At the time, Ukraine was using them to fight against Russia!
In Syria, these drones gave the rebels the key advantage over Assad’s troops. This was a decisive factor. The rebels also learned from Ukraine’s drone warfare, which Germany has heavily supported through various drone manufacturers.
After already significantly weakening Russia in Ukraine and Syria, Turkey then focused on empowering the rebel groups. Regional expert Andre Bank from the giga Institute of Middle East Studies in Hamburg noted: “hts recently acquired new weapons. The group currently uses drones and missile systems. One could presume they were procured from Turkey.”
Foreign affairs think tank Stimson Center commented, “Footage of hts fighters demonstrating professional skills in drone warfare and other enhanced military capabilities able to adapt and innovate in response to Russian and Syrian bombardment suggests that the fighters have received significant help from Turkey.”
What people forget, however, is that it was Germany that originally helped Turkey become a drone power.
Turkish-German cooperation played a significant role in overthrowing the dictatorial Assad regime in Syria. This same partnership is prophesied to change the Middle East in even more dramatic ways.
Danger Looms
As Mr. Flurry explained in his 2011 article “A Mysterious Prophecy,” Psalm 83 speaks of an unprecedented alliance prophesied to form in our day. This prophecy mentions, among others, Turkey (Edom), Saudi Arabia (Ishmaelites), Syria (Hagarenes) and Germany (Assur).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJGLSAoNhLQ
Turkey and Germany are now working to bring Syria into this alliance; thus, we are seeing the fulfillment of a key prophecy before our eyes.
This prophecy also reveals the devilish goal of the Psalm 83 alliance: “Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance” (verses 1-4).
It’s easy to believe an anti-Semite like Erdoğan would plot such a scheme. Yet this prophecy reveals something almost no one will accept: Germany, Turkey, Syria and others are plotting to blot out Israel—which prophetically includes not only the Jewish state but also the United States and Britain.
We saw a similar alliance in World War i, when the Ottoman Empire and the German Reich fought side by side against Britain, France and Russia. This new alliance is prophesied to be much more deadly.
Consider: Turkey and Germany both have access to U.S. nuclear weapons stationed on their soil.
The Bible warns emphatically about this alliance. An honest look at Germany’s relations with Turkey should reveal to anyone that mortal danger is looming—yet our world slumbers on.
God gave these prophecies as a warning. Most won’t heed His warning today, but the fulfillment of these prophecies will teach mankind to abhor their evil ways and to fear God.
To learn more, read “Turkey Is Going to Betray America.”