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Emanuel Macron
Christian Hartmann / Pool Photo via AP
The “red lines” policy followed by France towards Turkey in the Mediterranean and elsewhere was emphasized by French President Emanuel Macron. He said in an interview that this was the only way to deal with Turkey, that it “respects the deeds, not the words.”
On the occasion of the meeting of foreign ministers, Emanuel Macron called on European countries to show solidarity with Greece and Cyprus in the face of Turkish provocations and Turkish investigations in the eastern Mediterranean, violating the EEZs of the two countries, while claiming that he is pressing for sanctions. However, he acknowledged that they exist within the EU. “Different views on this.”
“When it comes to sovereignty in the Mediterranean, we must be consistent in our words and actions. I assure you that the Turks only understand and respect this.” If you say things and then don’t do them … “he said
“France has done something very important this summer: it is following a policy of red lines.” We did it in Syria too, “he said, referring to air strikes against areas where chemical weapons were suspected to be stored.
On the joint aeronautical exercise with Greece, Italy and Cyprus, whose participation in France led to the resignation of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the French president said: “It was a similar response (to the Oruc Reis investigations), we did not send and the fleet.”
Turkey-France relations have been in crisis since June, when a French warship monitoring the implementation of the arms embargo on Libya tried to control a Turkish ship, sparking a Turkish backlash and drawing the two countries closer to a conflict.
Commenting on the policy followed by Ankara, Emanuel Macron said that “in recent years Turkey has not followed NATO’s country strategy.” No country would attack the exclusive economic zone of two allied EU member states. “
Commenting on the German initiative for the dialogue between Greece and Turkey, he said that both Germany and other EU members see how problematic Turkey’s agenda is. “Six months ago, everyone accused France of hurting Turkey, now everyone is seeing how things are, that there is a problem.”
