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Source: Dubai – Arabia.net
Amid ongoing tensions between Ankara and the European Union over a number of issues, including oil and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, French President Emmanuel Macron of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica, He called on Turkey to open the doors to responsible dialogue and good intentions.
Macron said on Twitter on Saturday, “In Ajaccio, we sent a clear message to Turkey: we reopen a responsible dialogue, in good faith, without being naïve.”
He added: “This call is now also the call of the European Parliament. It seems that it has been heard.
Notably, the European Union will discuss next week the issue of imposing sanctions on Turkey in response to its dispatch of exploration ships and warships to the eastern Mediterranean regions, which Greece and Cyprus demand.
On Friday, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar launched an attack on Macron regarding his criticism of the Turkish escalation through oil and gas exploration operations in the eastern Mediterranean.
“The French president is pouring oil on the fire of the problems in the eastern Mediterranean region,” Akar said, adding: “It is not within the powers of the European Union to establish rules or draw borders in the eastern Mediterranean.”
A new escalation of the debate
To that, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, described this Thursday his French counterpart as “incompetent”, in a new escalation of the debate that has acquired an increasingly personal character among them.
Erdogan and Macron traded insults for months after they took contradictory positions on various conflicts, ranging from Libya and other regions of the Middle East to Turkey’s dispute with Greece over maritime borders.
Macron also provoked Ankara’s ire last week when he indicated that Turkey “deserves something different” from the way the Erdogan government has handled foreign affairs.
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