Le Figaro: Eastern Mediterranean tensions ... Different positions of European countries towards Ankara

In the past, Germany's truce relations with Russia were what differentiated the positions of Berlin and Paris within the European Union, but since the beginning of this summer it seems that the position on Turkey - in its crisis with Greece - is a subject of contention between these two major countries.

This is what is stated by Isabel Lasserre, editor of the French newspaper Le Figaro, in her report on the position of the European Union on the eastern Mediterranean crisis between Greece and Turkey.

The editor says that Paris, in an open conflict with Turkey, sided with Greece, rejecting the Turkish "fait accompli" in the eastern Mediterranean, and expressing the "growing frustration" with Ankara.

To deter Turkey from continuing its energy exploration in Greek waters, France conducted military exercises with Greece, Cyprus and Italy in the region, and French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated this summer that Turkey's international actions contribute to "a brain death of NATO", stressing that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's "expansionist" policies It conflicts with "European interests".

But in the face of hard-line countries towards Turkey, namely France, Greece and Cyprus, which threaten to impose new sanctions on Ankara, Germany, Spain and Italy have taken a more conciliatory approach, according to the French newspaper's report.

Berlin, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, supports dialogue, diplomacy and mediation, and has received coolly the French military build-up in the eastern Mediterranean, saying that this type of maneuver "does not help in de-escalation."

According to Le Figaro, this indicates that adopting a unified position between the European Union countries vis-à-vis Ankara will not be easy, especially since some Eastern European countries such as Poland and Hungary have strong relations with Turkey.

She concludes her report that resolving this crisis within NATO will be difficult, as France, in its efforts to put pressure on Turkey within the alliance, has only obtained the support of 8 out of 30 countries, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed his support for German diplomatic efforts calling for "dialogue and reduction." escalation".