Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his German counterpart Annalina Birbock engaged in a sharp debate over a range of issues at a long, tense press conference on Friday, and publicly exchanged stinging criticism on a number of issues.

The press conference began an hour later than the scheduled time and continued for about an hour. It was launched with quiet remarks at first by the two ministers, but it got hotter as each side criticized the other's policies.

The Turkish minister criticizes

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Germany had lost its neutrality in mediating between Turkey, Greece and Cyprus, adding that it should listen to all sides without bias.

"Countries, including Germany, should not be a tool of provocation and propaganda, especially by Greece and the Greek Cypriot side," he added at a press conference in Istanbul.

Relations between Athens and Ankara have been strained over a host of issues ranging from air corridors to conflicting claims to maritime sovereignty.

Cyprus, which was divided in 1974 when Turkey invaded its northern third in response to a Greek-inspired coup, is a major point of contention.

German Minister: I must say so

Annalena Birbock said that differences in the eastern Mediterranean cannot be resolved by increasing tension.

Birbock later referred to the philanthropist Kavala and called on Turkey to implement the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights.

"Even if it is hard to hear, it must be said," said the Greens minister, who is on her first visit to Turkey and will visit Ankara on Saturday. Council of Europe officials have repeatedly called on Ankara to "immediately release" Osman Kavala, following a court ruling. European.

"It is my responsibility as foreign minister to respect and defend the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights without exception at all times," she said, adding that Kavala should be released.

Cavusoglu is protesting

But Cavusoglu responded, protesting, "Why does Germany encourage all countries to exclude Turkey from the Council of Europe," before saying that Greece, Norway and Germany also did not implement other rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and accused Germany of financing Kavala.

Kavala was sentenced to life in prison without parole in April for allegedly financing the 2013 Gezi protests nationwide in what rights groups described as a political trial.

"Why do you constantly refer to Osman Kavala? Because you are using Osman Kavala against Turkey. We know the amount of funding he received during the Gezi events," Cavusoglu said.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2019 that Kavala's arrest was intended to silence him and that the evidence was insufficient to prove the charges against him.

Cavusoglu also criticized Berlin for "embracing" Kurdish militants, and Birbock responded that Germany and the European Union treat the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which has waged a decades-old insurgency against Turkey, as a terrorist organization.

On the other hand, the German Foreign Minister warned against launching a "preventive attack" in northern Syria.

She stressed that "the new conflict will only lead to more suffering for the population, and instability will benefit ISIS," using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.

She stressed that "Turkey has the right to defend itself, but it must attack criminals only," acknowledging that "Turkey has been facing terrorist attacks from the Kurdistan Workers' Party for years."

Ankara has been threatening for two months to launch a military operation to preserve its southern border.

Berbuk arrived from Athens, where she called on Turkey to respect Greek sovereignty over the Aegean islands, which "no one has the right to question".

In response, Cavusoglu said, "Germany should take a more balanced position in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean, and not enter the game of Greek and Cypriot provocations and propaganda."