Often Arguing, Turkey And France Are Now Planning To Normalize Relations

Emmanuel Macron from Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Sumber: Commons Wikimedia)

JAKARTA - Turkey and France are making way to normalize relations and talks are going well. This was conveyed directly by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

He also said Turkey was ready to improve relations with its NATO allies if France showed the same willingness. Citing Reuters, Friday, January 8, 2021, Turkey has repeatedly clashed with France over policies in Syria, Libya, the eastern Mediterranean and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Last time, Turkey criticized France for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Meanwhile France has pushed for EU sanctions against Turkey. Speaking with his Portuguese counterpart, Augusto Santos Silva in Lisbon, Cavusoglu said the tension between the two countries "categorically" stems from French opposition to Turkey, which launched an offensive into northeast Syria in 2019.

The attack was carried out by Turkey to fight the Syrian Kurdish YPG. "Turkey is not categorically against France, but France has fought Turkey decisively since Operation Peace Spring," Cavusoglu said.

Turkey views the YPG as a terrorist organization linked to Kurdish militants in its own country. "In the end, we had a very constructive telephone conversation with my French partner Jean-Yves Le Drian and we agreed that we had to work out a road map to normalize the relationship," he said.

"We have been working on an action plan, or road map, to normalize relations and it has worked well. If France is sincere, Turkey is also ready to normalize relations with France."

Last month, the European Union prepared punitive measures over Turkey's disputes with Greek and Cypriot members over rights to offshore resources in the eastern Mediterranean. But the European Union decided to postpone its actions until March 2021 despite previous pushes from France to sanction Turkey.

After months of tension, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed their differences in a phone call in September 2020, agreeing to improve relations. However, the two presidents then returned to accuse each other over a number of issues as tensions flared up again.

Erdogan had asked Turkish citizens to stop buying French products. The harsh response was Erdogan's anger at the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad displayed in France which he considered an insult to Muslims.

In addition to Turkish citizens, he also voiced a boycott call for his colleagues. Erdogan, who has a history of bad relations with French President Emmanuel Macron, said France was pursuing an anti-Islam agenda.

"I call on all my citizens from here to never help French brands or buy them," Erdogan said.