Accra, Oct 27,(dpa/GNA) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held a phone conversation on Friday with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel, in the first official call since the release of human rights activists in Turkey this week.
Gabriel told Cavusoglu he welcomed the release of German national Peter Steudtner and that he was seeking further dialogue and to improve the bilateral relationship, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr said.
Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said Gabriel initiated the call.
Several key human rights activists were released from prison this week, pending trial, including the local director of leading advocacy group Amnesty International and two Europeans.
German citizen Steudtner and Ali Gharavi from Sweden were among 10 activists held after a police raid on a training workshop in Istanbul in July. The two foreigners flew back home on Thursday.
Gabriel had confirmed to Spiegel magazine that former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was instrumental in Steudtner's release, saying that he had a face-to-face conversation with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The activists are accused of terrorism-related charges and face up to 15 years in jail if convicted.
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