Turkey wishes to cooperate with France against “
terrorism
” and for stability in the Middle East, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Tuesday to his counterpart Emmanuel Macron, as Ankara seeks to normalize its relations with Paris.
Read also: For young Franco-Turks, the Erdogan temptation
“
We can contribute significantly to the stability and peace of Europe in the Caucasus and the Middle East in Africa.
There are also measures that we can take together (...) against terrorist organizations
, ”Erdogan told Macron during a videoconference interview, according to a report released by the Turkish presidency.
"
Turkey wishes to cooperate with France in all these fields
", he added, considering that the collaboration between Ankara and Paris had "
great potential
".
This interview, the first between the two leaders since September, comes after months of sharp tensions between Ankara and Paris, which clash on several issues such as Libya, Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Erdogan and Macron have had heated exchanges in recent months, the Turkish president going so far as to question the "
mental health
" of his French counterpart and call in October to boycott French products.
Read also: In Flers, Turkish nationalism with Norman sauce
But now that he is seeking to repair relations between Turkey and the European Union against the backdrop of economic problems, Mr. Erdogan has watered his tea and made many soothing statements in recent weeks.
In his interview with Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, he stressed that
Franco-Turkish
“
friendship
” had “
overcome a number of obstacles
” since its beginnings in the 16th century under the reigns of King François I and Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
However, the Turkish presidency did not mention in its report the situation of French teachers at the prestigious Galatasaray University in Istanbul recently deprived of their work permits and threatened with expulsion at any time, a matter which worries Paris.