Some tensions during the visit of the head of French diplomacy to Turkey
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (right) and Catherine Colonna, his French counterpart visiting Ankara, September 5, 2022. AFP - STR
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2 mins
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna visited Turkey on Monday, September 5, a country with which France has often tense relations, to ensure in particular the "solidarity" of this NATO country, mediator in the Ukrainian conflict, but which did not adopt sanctions against Russia.
Without citing Turkey, the French minister expressed concern about the “circumvention” of sanctions.
The minister also mentioned disagreements over Greece or Syria.
But it was above all on the question of France's role in Africa that tensions emerged during the joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
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With our correspondent in Istanbul,
Anne Andlauer
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu did not take up Catherine Colonna's allusion when the latter called for "
avoiding any verbal escalation or provocation
" between Athens and Ankara, following the Turkish president's recent remarks against the Greek neighbor.
He did not react when the French minister warned against "
any destabilizing initiative
" in northern Syria, where Turkey plans to carry out a new offensive.
Nor when Catherine Colonna insisted on the importance of not letting Russia circumvent the sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine – sanctions that Turkey refuses to apply.
The head of Turkish diplomacy preferred to largely return to Emmanuel Macron's call to counter "
anti-French propaganda
", particularly in Africa, designating Russia, China and Turkey.
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu considered this declaration "
regrettable
", believing that "
if there is an anti-French attitude in Africa, one should not look on the side of Turkey, but on the mistakes of the past
", in reference to colonization.
“
We are not talking about neocolonialism concerning Turkey, let us not talk about it concerning France
”, for her part reacted Catherine Colonna, citing rather “
communication difficulties on the presentation of the role of France in Africa
".
►Read again: "Don't forget Izmir": the Turkish president's firm warning to Greece
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Catherine Colonna