Germany, Turkey take small steps to restore friendlier ties

BERLIN (AP) — The German and Turkish foreign ministers are taking small steps toward restoring friendlier relations after more than a year of tension between their countries. But they also made clear that differences remain.

Germany's Sigmar Gabriel welcomed Turkey's Mevlut Cavusoglu to his hometown of Goslar on Saturday amid a wider effort by the Turkish leadership to improve the country's strained relationship with Europe.

A major irritant in relations between the two countries has been Turkey's jailing of several German or German-Turkish nationals, including a prominent journalist, on terror-related charges.

Gabriel said there has been some softening lately. He says he and Cavusoglu agreed to recommend that a joint German-Turkish economic commission that hasn't met recently reconvene.

Gabriel says they also want to revive a "strategic dialogue" between the two foreign ministries.