After months of tension, French presidents Emmanuel Macron and Turkish presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on Monday June 14 in Brussels in "a peaceful climate", pledging to "work together" on Libya and Syria, according to the French head of state.

The two leaders also addressed the case of Fabien Azoulay, a Frenchman sentenced to 16 years in prison by Turkish justice for possession of narcotics in 2017. "The conditions for his rapid transfer (to France) are progressing," Emmanuel Macron said. , hoping that this procedure will be successful "as soon as possible".

I was able to mention the case of our compatriot Fabien Azoulay.

The conditions for a rapid transfer are advancing and I hope will enable us to succeed as soon as possible.

This morning's discussion is producing results that are already useful.

https://t.co/8jG1AQ2wKg

- Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 14, 2021

On all contentious issues, "it was important to move forward," Emmanuel Macron summed up to the press after this 45-minute head to head at NATO headquarters, on the sidelines of the Alliance summit.

This meeting allowed "appeasement", "clarification" and "concrete work on humanitarian issues in Syria and Libya", he added.

"Considering the stakes", "we both agreed that it was necessary to do everything to be able to work together", according to him.

>> To read: In Paris, the head of Turkish diplomacy plays the card of appeasement with France

Relations between the two presidents have calmed down in recent months after having deteriorated sharply in 2020, especially in the fall when Recep Tayyip Erdogan questioned the "mental health" of his counterpart.

The subjects of disagreement had crystallized in particular in the eastern Mediterranean, where Paris supported Athens in the face of Ankara's gas ambitions and where an incident opposed Turkish and French buildings in June 2020.

"Clear points of convergence"

Regarding the conflict in Libya, France and Turkey will "work together" in "the next few weeks" so that "the mercenaries and militias from abroad who operate on Libyan soil can leave it as quickly as possible. ", affirmed Emmanuel Macron.

France and many countries are calling for the departure of foreign soldiers and mercenaries - estimated at 20,000 at the end of 2020 by the UN - in order to bolster the hopes for peace that have been outlined in recent months.

These include Turkish troops and Syrian mercenaries deployed by Turkey, as well as mercenaries from the private Russian group Wagner.

On Libya, Emmanuel Macron and Recep Tayyip Erdogan also "found clear points of convergence" to "preserve the ceasefire" and "the objective" of organizing elections on December 24 in order to "accompany" the government of national unity formed under the aegis of the United Nations.

>> To read: Turkey: President Erdogan judges that Emmanuel Macron "is a problem for France"

During the interview, the French president also "provided clarifications" on the place of Islam in France, a subject which had "given rise to misunderstandings or attacks" on the part of Turkey and of other Muslim countries last year.

"France's policy was not to attack a religion" but to "strengthen the fight against extremist groups which use and distort" Islam, he explained to the Turkish president.

In October, the Turkish president accused Emmanuel Macron of leading a "campaign of hatred" against Islam, because he had defended the right to caricature the Prophet Muhammad and for his speech against Islamist "separatism" in France.

With AFP

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