“Don’t try to quarrel with the Turkish people. Don’t try to fight Turkey. You will have problems with me, ”warned Erdogan, in a speech in Istanbul and broadcast on television, referring to Macron’s harsh criticism of Ankara about the conflict between Greece and Turkey over oil and gas prospecting in the eastern Mediterranean.
On Friday, Macron said that Europe needs to be “clear and firm” with the Erdogan government, siding with Greece and Cyprus, at a time when the European Union has decided to impose sanctions on Ankara because of the conflict in the Mediterranean.
Macron even said that the Turkish government had “unacceptable behavior, saying it was necessary to” clarify its intentions “.
France has been one of the strongest countries in responding to Turkish prospecting, looking for gas deposits, having even sent, during the summer, ships and warplanes to the area, to underline its support for Greeks and Cypriots.
Turkey claims the right to exploit hydrocarbon deposits in a maritime area that Athens considers to be under its sovereignty.
France and Turkey are also at odds over the arms embargo on Libya, but Erdogan rejects criticism from Paris, saying France should remember its colonial history.
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