Tweet
Turkish Press
Nov 15 2009
France And Turkey: With Or Without The E.U.?
Published: 11/15/2009
BY BERIL DEDEOGLU
STAR- Paris was one of the important stops in Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu's November schedule. This visit followed President Abdullah
Gul's trip to Paris as part of the Turkish Season in France, where
certain tensions were seen. Davutoglu explained Turkey's foreign
policy moves to the French and international media, saying that people
who claim Turkey has changed its axis should try to look at the world
with new eyes. He discussed Turkey's approach and initiatives. During
his visit, he also met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and
probably said similar things.
France's approach can be summed up as, 'Let's do the European Union
process, but let's also develop bilateral relations,' whereas Turkey's
approach says that bilateral relations can't be separated from the EU
process. France is eager to develop bilateral relations and invest in
Turkey, especially in the energy sector, and to win back military
contracts. But Turkey wants to see France change its stance, and is in
no hurry. Turkey knows that Sarkozy and his people, who oppose
Turkey's EU bid, aren't all there is to France.
As there are other forces in France, Turkey partially dropped
obstacles to France using its airspace to reach its troops in
Afghanistan. The US might have played a role in this. The possibility
of Gaz de France getting involved into the Nabucco project has also
been raised. Among other pipelines, Nabucco is the one which most
closely concerns Europe, but it's also likely to suffer delays. So
getting France involved would require decision-makers to be careful
about Turkey and also shows that Turkey is in no hurry. These
developments, which don't indicate great initiatives in terms of
bilateral relations but long-term expectations, were welcomed in
Turkey.
French Minister for EU Affairs Pierre Lellouche said that France would
continue to oppose Turkey's EU membership, but that it wants Turkey to
stay in the talks and that France wants to maximize bilateral
economic, strategic and political relations, as does Turkey. In short,
as France tries to block Turkey's EU membership, Turkey will try to
work with France and do what it asks. Of course some might ask, why
would Turkey do this?
Either Turkey has left the EU process and we learn this from
Lellouche, or he's trying to create a public perception that they
convinced Turkey, that is, presenting it as a fait accompli through
such statements. Lellouche said that he was invited to attend the
recent landmark soccer game between Armenia and Turkey in Bursa, but
he wasn't able to come due to scheduling conflicts. So the first
possibility doesn't seem to be reasonable or credible. The second
possibility might indicate a Turkish 'wait and see' policy. We should
also remember that such a stance poisons Turkish public opinion and
that Turkey is helping France's policy of throwing in the towel.
Turkey needs top officials to make statements about the issue of EU
and France.
Nov 15 2009
France And Turkey: With Or Without The E.U.?
Published: 11/15/2009
BY BERIL DEDEOGLU
STAR- Paris was one of the important stops in Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu's November schedule. This visit followed President Abdullah
Gul's trip to Paris as part of the Turkish Season in France, where
certain tensions were seen. Davutoglu explained Turkey's foreign
policy moves to the French and international media, saying that people
who claim Turkey has changed its axis should try to look at the world
with new eyes. He discussed Turkey's approach and initiatives. During
his visit, he also met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and
probably said similar things.
France's approach can be summed up as, 'Let's do the European Union
process, but let's also develop bilateral relations,' whereas Turkey's
approach says that bilateral relations can't be separated from the EU
process. France is eager to develop bilateral relations and invest in
Turkey, especially in the energy sector, and to win back military
contracts. But Turkey wants to see France change its stance, and is in
no hurry. Turkey knows that Sarkozy and his people, who oppose
Turkey's EU bid, aren't all there is to France.
As there are other forces in France, Turkey partially dropped
obstacles to France using its airspace to reach its troops in
Afghanistan. The US might have played a role in this. The possibility
of Gaz de France getting involved into the Nabucco project has also
been raised. Among other pipelines, Nabucco is the one which most
closely concerns Europe, but it's also likely to suffer delays. So
getting France involved would require decision-makers to be careful
about Turkey and also shows that Turkey is in no hurry. These
developments, which don't indicate great initiatives in terms of
bilateral relations but long-term expectations, were welcomed in
Turkey.
French Minister for EU Affairs Pierre Lellouche said that France would
continue to oppose Turkey's EU membership, but that it wants Turkey to
stay in the talks and that France wants to maximize bilateral
economic, strategic and political relations, as does Turkey. In short,
as France tries to block Turkey's EU membership, Turkey will try to
work with France and do what it asks. Of course some might ask, why
would Turkey do this?
Either Turkey has left the EU process and we learn this from
Lellouche, or he's trying to create a public perception that they
convinced Turkey, that is, presenting it as a fait accompli through
such statements. Lellouche said that he was invited to attend the
recent landmark soccer game between Armenia and Turkey in Bursa, but
he wasn't able to come due to scheduling conflicts. So the first
possibility doesn't seem to be reasonable or credible. The second
possibility might indicate a Turkish 'wait and see' policy. We should
also remember that such a stance poisons Turkish public opinion and
that Turkey is helping France's policy of throwing in the towel.
Turkey needs top officials to make statements about the issue of EU
and France.