Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu considered the escalation of racism and hostility to Islam in the European continent a cause for concern, during a press conference in Ankara with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who is visiting Turkey to "test its solidarity."
Cavusoglu said that Ankara is waiting for Paris to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of Turkish and Islamic mosques and associations in France, noting that Turkey and France are two countries with historical relations in the political, economic and cultural fields.
He stressed that he agreed with his French counterpart to continue cooperation in facing regional and global challenges.
He added, "It is clear that we do not agree with France on every issue, but this does not prevent dialogue and working together, as we have reduced differences of views through dialogue."
He expressed his gratitude for the rapprochement and intense dialogue that took place recently between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
He stressed the need to strengthen dialogue and talks between Ankara and Paris on many regional and international issues of common interest.
French praise for Turkey's role in the grain agreement
For its part, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Monday praised the pioneering role played by Turkey in reaching the Ukrainian grain shipment agreement.
This came in a joint press conference held with her Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, after their meeting in Ankara.
Colonna said in a joint press conference with her Turkish counterpart that she congratulated Cavusoglu and praised Turkey for achieving a very important success in July in the grain shipment issue.
She pointed to the export of 2 million tons of Ukrainian grain thanks to the agreement concluded in Istanbul.
She indicated that she has been continuing dialogue with her Turkish counterpart since taking office, on many files, including the Ukrainian crisis.
She stressed the need to deepen the dialogue to complement the talks that took place between Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Emmanuel Macron, during a phone call in July.
She stated that the two countries sometimes adopt different views, but not always, stressing the need to talk about controversial issues and increase the number of agreed files.
The "solidarity" test of the Turkish ally
Earlier, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on RTL radio, "I will personally go in the afternoon to Ankara and Istanbul."
"Turkey sometimes plays a positive role (...) it must be encouraged to go in this way and make sure that it remains compatible with the efforts of the United Nations," she added.
Turkey maintains good relations with both Moscow and Kiev.
It provided Kyiv with military parades but refused to join Western sanctions imposed on Russia after launching its offensive in Ukraine.
"It is important to make sure that countries that do (not impose) sanctions are not a platform to get around the sanctions that have been adopted by the greater part of the international community," Colonna added.
"The issue of not circumventing the sanctions will be discussed first," AFP quoted a French diplomatic source as saying.
"There are temptations that we must make sure that they do not become widespread," the source added, without citing specific examples.
"We expect solidarity," said the delegation accompanying the minister.