APA – Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Friday that French President Emmanuel Macron adds fuel to the fire in the region, making it harder to solve problems in the Eastern Mediterranean, while the European Union is similarly adopting a “biased and prejudiced” stance toward Ankara, APA reports citing Daily Sabah.
“Macron is going after some roles to conceal his own problems. He comes from thousands of kilometers away and tries to seize a role in the Eastern Mediterranean. We are protecting our own rights and laws. We’ve always said and will continue to say we are ready to pursue dialogue with our neighbor Greece,” Akar told British broadcaster, Channel 4.
Tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean have been on the rise in recent months due to disputes over drilling activities and maritime zones.
“He is trying to take on the role of Napoleon, who died 200 years ago. But we can all see that he is neither powerful enough nor tall enough to do it,” Akar said, “We are not pursuing any kind of imperialistic aims. Here we are protecting our rights and the law.”
The animosity between Turkey and France has been mounting since Macron warned in November that NATO’s lack of response to a Turkish operation against terrorism in northern Syria showed that the alliance was undergoing “brain death.”
Turkey, on the other side, has frequently decried French support to the YPG, a terrorist organization linked to the PKK and recognized by the U.S. and the EU, in Syria
Back in April 2019, Macron hosted a delegation of the so-called SDF, which is dominated by the YPG terrorist group. Macron assured the YPG representatives, who were not named, of the “active support of France in the fight against Daesh which continues to be a menace for collective security,” the presidency said in a statement. France also ignores the strong presence of the PKK within its borders.
Europol’s annual terrorism report published in June titled “European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2020,” suggested the PKK is actively engaged in propaganda activities as well as collecting money in European countries including in France.
The two countries also have been at odds due to the war in Libya, in which Turkey backs the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli in the conflict against putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar. France is suspected of backing the warlord despite no official statements of support.
The two countries’ dispute has escalated further since France last month sent naval assets into the Eastern Mediterranean to support Greek warships shadowing Turkish ones in disputed waters.
Stressing that Turkey has a coastline of around 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) on the Eastern Mediterranean, Akar said Greece has militarized some islands in the Aegean Sea in violation of international law. The minister said this posed a threat to Turkey and was ignored even though it did not comply with the notion of good, neighborly relations.
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