France said on Saturday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan needed a mental health check-up with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, which he called his envoy to Turkey for advice after suggesting Paris was condemned as unacceptable.
France and its NATO allies are discussing a number of issues, including the growing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over maritime rights in the Eastern Mediterranean, Libya, Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh.
But Anjar is now particularly outraged by Michael Kron’s campaign to defend France’s secular values against radical Islam, given a new impetus this month by the murder of a teacher who showed his class a cartoon of the prophet Mohammed.
“What can one say about the head of state who treats millions of members of different faith groups this way: First of all, do a psychological investigation,” Erdogan said in a televised address in the central Anatolian city of Cesarea.
“What is the problem of a man called Macron with Islam and Muslims?” Asked Erdogan.
“Macron needs psychiatric treatment,” Erdogan added, while indicating that he did not expect the French leader to receive a new mandate in the 2022 election.
– ‘No mourning’ –
In a very unusual move, a French presidential official said the French ambassador to Turkey had been summoned from Ankara for consultations and would meet Mac Krone to discuss the situation following Erdogan’s aggression.
“President Erdogan’s remarks are unacceptable. Excess and harshness is not a method. We want Erdogan to change the course of his policy because he is dangerous in every way,” the official told AFP.
The Elysee official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said France had noted the “absence of messages of condolence and support” from the Turkish president following the beheading of teacher Samuel Petty outside Paris.
The official also expressed concern over calls by Ankara for a boycott of French goods.
This month Macron described Islam as a worldwide “state of emergency” and said the government would introduce a bill to strengthen the 1905 law that officially separated the church and the state in France.
He announced strict supervision of schools and better control over foreign funding of mosques.
But the debate over the role of Islam in France has hit new heights after Patti’s beheading, which prosecutors say was carried out by an 18-year-old Chechen with links to jihadists in Syria.
Turkey is a Muslim-majority but secular country that is part of NATO but not the EU, where its membership bid has stalled for decades over many controversies.
The Turkish leader said, “You are constantly choosing Erdogan. This will not make you any money.”
“Elections will be held there (in France) … we will see your (Macron’s) fate. I don’t think he has a long way to go. Why? He has not achieved anything for France and he should do it for himself.”
– ‘Behind Disasters’ –
Another new feud between the two leaders is over Nagorno-Karabakh – the majority ethnic Armenian Army territory in Azerbaijan, which has been annexed by the USSR. Declared independence after the fall of, which started a war in the early 1990s in which 30,000 people were killed.
Turkey has been a strong supporter of Azerbaijan in the conflict but has denied MacCrone’s allegations that Ankara has sent hundreds of Syrian military fighters to help Azerbaijan.
On Saturday, Erdogan accused France – which is responsible for resolving the conflict with Russia and the United States co-chairing the Minsk group – of being behind “disasters and Azerbaijan’s business”.
He also reiterated earlier claims that France, which has a strong Armenian community, was arming Yerevan. “You think the weapons you send to the Armenians will help you restore peace. You can’t do that because you’re not honest.”
But the Elysee official said Erdogan had two months to respond to calls for a change of attitude and that he would end his “dangerous adventures” in the East Mediterranean and his “irresponsible behavior” over Karabakh.
Action needs to be taken by the end of the year, the official said.
Fo-Lab-SJW / Her
