'Brexit agreement model for EU-Turkey relationship'

berlin - The future relationship with the United Kingdom can serve as a model for the European Union's cooperation with Ukraine and Turkey. This is what the German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel says to different media on Tuesday.

Gabriel emphasizes that he will not see the two countries as a full member of the EU in the coming years. 'That's why we have to think about alternative forms of closer collaboration,' he says. 'If we reach a smart agreement with Britain, which regulates relations with Europe after the Brexit, it could be a model for other countries', citing Ukraine and Turkey as an example.

He does, however, add that the necessary reforms must take place in Turkey before closer cooperation is sought. The SPD politician is pleased that Turkey has recently released a number of German citizens who had been arrested for political reasons.

Gabriel is still worried about the German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel of Die Welt, who is still in detention. The Turkish authorities arrested Yücel on 14 February during a wave of arrests after the failed coup attempt in July 2016. They accused him of engaging in propaganda for a terrorist organization.