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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he hopes France will get rid of President Emmanuel Macron soon, describing him as a burden on his country going through difficult times, while Macron called for a pledge of respect.
Relations between the two countries have been strained, especially in recent months, due to differences over Syria and the publication of insulting cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, God bless him and grant him peace, in France.
“Macron represents a calamity for France. Macron and France are indeed going through a difficult period,” Erdogan told reporters, referring to protests sweeping French cities.
He added: “I hope that France will get rid of it as soon as possible, otherwise it will not get rid of the protests of yellow jackets, which can turn into red jackets.”
In response, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a pledge of respect on Friday, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called it a burden on France’s shoulders.
Macron also told the online news site Prut that Erdogan is limiting the freedoms available to the Turkish people.
Ankara and Paris exchanged accusations about their respective roles in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. France says Turkey is fueling the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over territory recognized by the international community as part of Azerbaijan but inhabited mainly by Armenians.
Turkey denies it, but supported Azerbaijan during the weeks of fighting to expel Armenian forces from the areas around Nagorno-Karabakh.
Ankara also says that France, which co-chairs the Minsk Group mediating the conflict, is not objective.
On Friday, Erdogan said that Paris’s status as a mediator no longer exists because of its support for Armenia. He criticized the French Senate’s decision this week urging the recognition of Nagorno Karabakh as a republic.
“(Azerbaijani President) Ilham Aliyev has some advice for the French. What did he say? If they love Armenians so much, then they should give them Marseille. I recommend the same, if they want them to this point, they should give them Marseille.
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