French-style ‘nails’ on Erdogan: Questions effectiveness of diplomacy

The current French press reports extensively on the diplomatic activities of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, questioning their effectiveness.

Ankara’s “active neutrality” is struggling to bear fruit, the Figaro newspaper reported, citing Ankara’s inability to meet the necessary conditions for the creation of sea lanes for grain exports through the Black Sea.

The French daily quotes Turkish and Russian Foreign Ministers as saying during a second visit to Ankara yesterday, noting that Ukraine, which was absent from the talks, remained on alert as the required demining of the port could with Kyiv, to be used by Russian forces to attack the city. “The Russian Black Sea Fleet will pretend to be withdrawing to annexed Crimea. But once the access to the port of Odessa is cleared, the Russian fleet will be there,” said a spokesman for the Odessa regional administration. Another point of contention, according to the newspaper, is the proposal made by Ankara on Wednesday to lift sanctions on Russia.

Figaro believes that, due to its geographical location, Turkey is in a strong position to find a way out of this crisis and intends to take advantage of it to complete the break in its recent diplomatic isolation. However, the daily wonders whether Ankara’s balancing stance will be timeless, noting the failure of its various attempts to reach a ceasefire to date.

Recalling that Ankara remains attached to Moscow with the contract for the purchase of S-400 missiles, due to lack of access to the program of American F35 fighters, the daily emphasizes that if Turkey can not afford to alienate Russia , is also based on its agreement in principle to launch a new military operation in northern Syria, aimed at repelling Kurdish forces, expanding the “security zone” and encouraging some of the estimated 3.7m. Syrian exiles to return to their country.

According to the same newspaper, a year before the presidential election and in the midst of economic recession, the issue for Erdogan is above all internal, as he wants to distract public attention from the galloping inflation and alleviate the dissatisfaction of those who is against refugees, betting on the nationalist line.

Referring to the issue of Turkey’s veto on Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO, Didier Beyoncé, IRIS Institute Publishing Director, told La Marseillaise that “if a compromise solution was offered, the EU would not He will not hold back the impatience until the end, if he is compensated, such as the lifting of the arms embargo on Turkey by Sweden and the US consent to deliver F-16 aircraft.

Regarding the Turkish president, he said: “Erdogan is a tough negotiating partner and denies any criticism of his domestic policy. One should know how to make a number of demands, but in no case can we give us a blank check and take our eyes off the very deteriorating human rights situation in Turkey. ”

“The Ukrainian crisis is a historic opportunity for Erdogan to show his importance,” Liberation said, noting that since the start of the war in Ukraine, the Turkish president has taken advantage of the crisis to claim Ankara’s place in international relations. , not hesitating to use its negotiating levers on all fronts. ”

The French newspaper also reported that “in the tense context of the war in Ukraine, the Turkish president has been waving several red flags simultaneously over the past two weeks – opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, threat of new military operation in the north “The accusations against Greece that it is blocking the access of the American F-35 fighters to Turkey – without its reason and objectives being clear”.

Source: AMPE