DIPLOMACY: French President, Emmanuel Macron receives his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Paris today, despite the purges in Turkey …
Syria, Europe and human rights in Turkey are the program of the meeting to be held this Friday in Paris between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
This visit is the most important of the head of the Turkish state in a country of the European Union (EU) since the failed coup of July 2016 and the repression that followed. The two leaders will meet head-to-head before lunch, after which they will speak to the press.
A controversial visit
This visit, controvesional, and not accepted by the parties to the left in France. He was sentenced by the far Left parties, France insoumise and the Parti communiste français while the City of Paris, led by the Socialist Anne Hidalgo, said she was “concerned” about the “respect for human rights and democracy in Turkey.”
The Elysee justifies this meeting by the desire to Emmanuel Macron “maintain the thread of dialogue” without “hide the differences,” as it does with the other leaders.
Anakara remains a “key partner”
More than 140,000 people were removed or suspended and more than 55,000 were arrested, including academics, journalists and pro-Kurdish activists. Amnesty International urged Emmanuel Macron recall “firmly” to Erdogan that “human rights were not terrorists.” journalists unions and organizations, including RSF asked him to “firmly denounce injustice that strikes the Turkish journalists.”
The extent of the purges conducted by Ankara virtually reduced to stop the negotiations on the long course of Turkey’s membership application to the EU. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has even announced in early September being favourable to stop the negotiations . But Emmanuel Macron then called to “avoid out” between the EU and Turkey, calling it “crucial partner”.
Cooperation on the Syrian file
Syria is also on the list of folders that will address the two presidents, as Ankara Paris seeking to weigh in the negotiations to end the conflict that killed more than 340,000 people since March 2011.
Anxious to “pragmatism”, French President intends to strengthen cooperation with Ankara in particular on two issues related to the Syrian crisis: “terrorism” jihadist and migration crisis.
Increasing economic exchanges
The two leaders are also expected to discuss the unrest in Iran, the issue of Jerusalem after the decision of US President Donald Trump to recognize it as the capital of Israel, and climate, Turkey has not ratified the Paris Agreement , according to the Elysee.
Bilaterally, Paris and Ankara want to increase their economic exchanges which amounted in 2016 to 13.38 billion, according to Ankara. France wants to move forward on the proposed construction by Areva with Japan’s Mitsubishi, a nuclear power plant in Sinop, on the shores of the Black Sea.
