Towards an easing of tensions?

While France and Turkey have been increasing litigation for several months, Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that he would meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The French president indicated that this face to face will take place "just before" the NATO summit which is to begin on Monday.

According to those around him, the meeting will be held in Brussels, but the exact time of the interview has not been specified.

"When we are members of the same organization, we cannot decide to take equipment which does not allow interoperability, we cannot decide to carry out unilateral operations which are contrary to the interests of the coalitions we have built" , clarified Emmanuel Macron, wishing "a clarification" with Turkey on the subject.

"Establish a clear framework for relations between allies"

Emmanuel Macron has more broadly called NATO for a "strategic reorganization" and "to establish a clear framework for relations between allies", pointing to "inconsistencies" which have not been "resolved".

The NATO summit should focus on security issues on the European continent, in a context of uncertainties surrounding the sustainability of the institution that Emmanuel Macron had judged 18 months ago "to be brain dead. ".

France and Turkey, both of which are part of NATO, have displayed antagonistic positions on a number of subjects within the Atlantic Alliance, which crystallized in particular in the eastern Mediterranean where Paris supported Athens in the face of gas ambitions of Ankara and where an incident opposed Turkish and French buildings in June 2020.

Syria, Azerbaijan and Muhammad caricature

Relations between the two countries have also deteriorated sharply due to disagreements over Syria, Libya and more recently over the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorny Karabakh.

In October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan questioned the "mental health" of his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, accusing him of leading a "campaign of hatred" against Islam, because he had defended the right to caricature of the Prophet Muhammad and for his speech against Islamist “separatism” in France.

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  • Tensions

  • NATO

  • Turkey

  • Emmanuel Macron

  • Recep Tayyip Erdogan

  • Meet