Merkel recalled Turkey’s contribution to immigration, while Ankara continues to mislead the EU

German Chancellor Angela Merkel remains trapped in Turkey’s blackmail with refugee-immigration at the forefront, and this casts a strong shadow on the efforts of Greece and Cyprus to impose severe sanctions on Ankara by the EU, ignoring the Turkish media. leadership and supposedly predictable goodwill movements.

Like the planned withdrawal of γραμμα after four months of illegal searches for Oruc Reis on the Greek continental shelf, on the eve of the Summit, Turkey left no room for misinterpretation, stating that the Turkish researcher had just completed this phase of his 2 in… “Turkish continental shelf”.

Speaking in a teleconference with members of the European Parliament and members of the national parliaments of the member states of the European Union under the German Presidency of the EU, Ms Merkel settled for half-truths about how to deal with aggressive and provocative movements Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean, while, on the contrary, he made no secret of his own goal. A statement that reveals how effectively Erdogan is using the immigration tool against Berlin.

Merkel characteristically said:

“If we look at how difficult it is for us in the EU on immigration, Turkey deserves great respect for what it is doing in this area,” he said, adding: “That is why I am in favor of continuing to support Turkey in this. , because it is better for refugees to live close to their homeland than to live in different EU countries, here we have, I think, an obligation. “And we know how difficult it has been for us in Germany to receive a large number of refugees, discussions that have taken place on this matter and so I understand better what Turkey is trying to do. “

The German chancellor said that Turkey’s movements in the Eastern Mediterranean were “provocative and aggressive” and was quick to say that Oruc Reis’ return to a Turkish port was a “good sign” (giving way to the Turkish maneuver), but drilling activities continue off Cyprus. “

And Ms While the context of the challenges is clear and everyday in recent months, Merkel simply states that “unfortunately progress” in EU-Turkey relations “is not as noteworthy” as she would like.

“We put a lot of effort into EU-Turkey relations.” There are a number of obstacles and difficulties that keep coming back, so we should wait for how the debate will unfold in December, but it has not progressed as much as expected, “Merkel said.

Turkey continues its communications operation to blur the image and make it easier for its supporters within the EU. trying to prevent severe penalties, although he cannot, of course, completely abandon at least rhetorical provocations and distraction efforts.

A series of articles in the Turkish press assure that in the exercise that took place at the Crete Firing Range from 23 to 27 November, with the participation of Germany, the Netherlands and the United States, a shot was fired from the S300 system, that does not correspond to reality. But the goal of the Turkish side is to strengthen its argument that NATO and the US should not react to the completely different case, of course, the supply of S400 from Turkey. Another allied country is also reportedly activating a Russian anti-missile system. (Of course, the S300 is not comparable to the S400, and the reason why the missile system ended in Greece after the cancellation of its transfer to Cyprus is unknown, and of course the missile system remains practically dismantled in Crete. ).

On Sunday, Turkish Justice Minister A. Gul and a close associate of Erdogan and presidential spokesman I. Kalin arranged a meeting with the leaders of Turkey’s non-Muslim communities at the Dolmabahçe Palace, which was attended by the Ecumenical Patriarch. “Patriarch”. called the official announcement), Bartholomew, the Armenian Patriarch Sahak Maşalyan, the Metropolitan of Syrochaldea, Yusuf Çetin and the Jewish Archbishop, Aksak Haleva.

A meeting that had a clear objective, first to respond to the impressions created by Pompeo’s visit to Turkey, where he met exclusively with the Ecumenical Patriarch, but also to show Europeans that Turkey is taking steps of reform and is a pioneer in religious matter. freedoms and rights of minorities.

After the meeting, Mr. Kalin was quick to state that religious minorities recognize the important contribution of the Erdogan government to the protection of their rights and that “the greatest witnesses to the propaganda, disinformation and blackmail campaign facing Turkey with the alleged “Turkey’s pressure on religious minorities” is religious minorities and our own minority communities, “he said, referring to Pompeo.” Sometimes, there were people who came to Turkey and wanted to extract malicious words from minorities. A game that it has not been achieved so far ”.

And Mr Kalin himself came to the conclusion that “Turkey is in a very good position in the world on the issue of religious pluralism and religious freedoms, with our own religious minorities being the most important witnesses.”

At the same time, attempts were made to revive a minority problem in Thrace, where the Turkish Foreign Minister, the President of the Turkish National Assembly and the head of the Directorate of Religious Affairs rushed to post announcements on the occasion of a written slogan. with a marker. A case with the pure aroma of provocation and lately the diehards of the minority are anxious that their role (and their funding is limited) for the Turkish state and parastatal is degrading, as Ankara has directly taken over the “game” against Greece.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, addressing in a teleconference to the leadership of the Turkish Armed Forces, referred to the case of the ship in which a sail was attempted while sailing towards Libya and again found an opportunity to attack Greece, accusing to our country to seek solutions in other countries. And … reject the dialogue:

“We can speak in the context of reciprocal UC. We can negotiate in the context of exploratory contacts and we can negotiate in the de-escalation process under the auspices of the Secretary General. NATO and Athens adopt a very opposite position …”.

AP Photo / Emrah Gurel