For François Hollande, Turkey’s presence in NATO must be called into question

For François Hollande, NATO must question the presence of Turkey within the international organization. A question which “must be asked with our allies” because of the “aggressive behavior” of Ankara “with regard to allied countries”, ruled, Wednesday, October 28, the former president (2012-2017).

“What are we doing, France, Turkey, in the same alliance? “Asked France Info the predecessor of Emmanuel Macron, recalling that the country is, in law,” an ally “of France by virtue of its presence within NATO. “These are aggressive policies of Turkey towards allied countries, and which encourage armed conflicts at the gates of Europe,” said the former French president.

Deep geopolitical differences

“Turkey today has a behavior in Syria which is not acceptable, causing conflicts which can encourage the terrorist organizations to resurface”, explained François Hollande, also citing the role of Turkey in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and its “behavior” in Libya. The personal attacks of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan towards Emmanuel Macron, “it is serious”, he still judged. According to him, “Turkey’s aggressive behavior, yes, that poses a problem for Turkey’s presence in the Atlantic Alliance”.

Ankara on Wednesday condemned a cartoon mocking Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the front page of Charlie Hebdo which reflects, according to the Turkish government, a “hostility against the Turks and Islam”. This is the latest episode in a series of tensions between Turkey and France. On Monday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan thus called on his fellow citizens to boycott French products, a few days after Paris recalled his ambassador to Ankara after the Turkish head of state questioned the “mental health” of his French counterpart.

The geopolitical differences are deep. Paris criticizes Turkish positions and interventions in the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria, Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean.