Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks in Ankara on September 7, 2020. Photo: Turkish presidency via AP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at his French counterpart on Saturday in his first comments directed at Emmanuel Macron during escalating tensions in the Mediterranean.
“First, don’t mess with the Turkish people and Turkey,” Erdogan said during a televised speech in Istanbul on the 40th anniversary of a 1980 military coup.
France has taken the side of Greece and Cyprus in a dispute with fellow NATO member Turkey over oil and gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean. Macron and Erdogan are also at odds on major issues including conflicts in Syria and Libya, and Paris’ friendly relations with Kurds.
Speaking at a summit of European Mediterranean nations on Thursday, Macron said they must be “clear and firm with, not Turkey as a nation and people, but with the government of President Erdogan which has taken unacceptable actions,” AFP reported.
The final statement from the summit said sanctions against Turkey were on the table.
Erdogan on Saturday said he’s told Macron the French leader has no knowledge of history, pointing to France’s record in Algeria and Rwanda. “It is you who killed 1 million people in Algeria. It is you who killed 800 thousand people in Rwanda. You cannot lecture us on humanity,” he said.
“First, don’t mess with the Turkish people and Turkey,” Erdogan said during a televised speech in Istanbul on the 40th anniversary of a 1980 military coup.
France has taken the side of Greece and Cyprus in a dispute with fellow NATO member Turkey over oil and gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean. Macron and Erdogan are also at odds on major issues including conflicts in Syria and Libya, and Paris’ friendly relations with Kurds.
Speaking at a summit of European Mediterranean nations on Thursday, Macron said they must be “clear and firm with, not Turkey as a nation and people, but with the government of President Erdogan which has taken unacceptable actions,” AFP reported.
The final statement from the summit said sanctions against Turkey were on the table.
Erdogan on Saturday said he’s told Macron the French leader has no knowledge of history, pointing to France’s record in Algeria and Rwanda. “It is you who killed 1 million people in Algeria. It is you who killed 800 thousand people in Rwanda. You cannot lecture us on humanity,” he said.
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