Moments before the German leader’s tense meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which she denied the country a cash injection, she turned her attention instead to the “smart connections” she hoped they would find together in a bid to keep Turkey stable.
The leader of the Christian Democratic Union said that instead of economic aid she was looking towards economic cooperation to help save Turkey from further financial turmoil.
Mrs Merkel emphasised that she also had some critical discussions with Erdogan on Friday in Berlin.
She said: “The human rights situation is not what I would imagine.”
Tensions between Turkey and Germany have become hostile following Turkey’s involvement in the Syria conflict and the imprisonment of scores of German Turks in the aftermath of the 2016 failed coup.
But the Turkish President has found himself in need of allies after Donald Trump imposed brutal tariffs on the nation in August, sending the lira plummeting 34 percent down against the dollar, even further than it had been dropping earlier this year.
Inflation is also at 18 percent.
Mr Erdogan told Turkish media ahead of his three-day visit: “The main goal of this visit is to completely leave behind this period of tensions.”
Former Turkish diplomat Sinan Ülgen said: “Turkey wants to improve its relationship with Europe at a time when the relationship with the US is under increased tension, with no immediate prospect of amelioration.
“More important is the economic driver.
“The Turkish government is keenly aware of the need to improve the relationship with Turkey’s traditional partners in the West to reduce the political risk to the Turkish economy.”
Mrs Merkel has made headlines herself in recent weeks after she demanded the the US and China “urgently” sort of their trade-war to prevent Germany from suffering its own financial crisis.
China is Germany’s most important trading partner and the United States is its biggest single export destination.
The German economy has been one of the strongest in the world in recent years and grown significantly over the past nine years, however BDI (The Federation of German Industries) President Kempf believes action is needed “now”.
He added: ”We have to take precautions – now.”
Additional reporting by Monika Pallenburg.