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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
May 8 2012
Ankara hopeful about French ties after polls
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Right-wing incumbent candidate Sarkozy adresses his supporters after
losing the election in Paris. Ties between Ankara and Paris were
severely damaged during Sarkozy era.
The election of François Hollande as France's President will not
repair bilateral Turkish-French relations overnight, according to
Turkish officials, who urge the new French leadership not to link
Turkey's accession to full membership in the European Union with
Armenian genocide claims.
`Turkey and France have never been hostile with each other, and we
have no such intention now,' Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an told
reporters in Slovenia Monday, expressing his hopes that relations will
improve during Hollande's presidency. Blaming Nicholas Sarkozy for the
deterioration of bilateral ties, ErdoÄ?an said he would like to see a
new era dawn between the two countries with the election of Hollande.
`I hope¦ the re-establishment of ties will also correct errors
committed against Turkey in its EU membership process,' he said.
`No one should wait to see a rosy picture,' diplomatic sources told
the Hürriyet Daily News. `There are so many things Paris needs to do
before we declare reconciliation.'
Ties between Ankara and Paris were severely damaged during Nicholas
Sarkozy's presidency due to the French leader's strong opposition to
Turkish membership in the EU and an attempt by his government to
criminalize the denial of the Armenian genocide. Though the
legislation has been annulled by the French Constitutional Council,
Turkey will not immediately remove the mainly military sanctions it
has imposed on France.
`We will first have to see the outcome of the French parliamentary
elections in June,' ErdoÄ?an said in response to questions about the
sanctions. ErdoÄ?an did not hesitate to urge France's new leader to
leave behind all the populist rhetoric he used during the election
campaign, particularly with regard to the alleged Armenian genocide.
`I wish statements like `Turkey cannot join the EU before it resolves
its problems with Armenia' had not been made,' ErdoÄ?an said, and
advised the French leadership to leave history to historians.
France has blocked five of the 33 negotiation chapters of Turkey's EU
membership talks. Sources said the new leadership's stance on the
blocked chapters will be a crucial indicator for the future state of
bilateral relations.
May/08/2012
From: A. Papazian
May 8 2012
Ankara hopeful about French ties after polls
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Right-wing incumbent candidate Sarkozy adresses his supporters after
losing the election in Paris. Ties between Ankara and Paris were
severely damaged during Sarkozy era.
The election of François Hollande as France's President will not
repair bilateral Turkish-French relations overnight, according to
Turkish officials, who urge the new French leadership not to link
Turkey's accession to full membership in the European Union with
Armenian genocide claims.
`Turkey and France have never been hostile with each other, and we
have no such intention now,' Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an told
reporters in Slovenia Monday, expressing his hopes that relations will
improve during Hollande's presidency. Blaming Nicholas Sarkozy for the
deterioration of bilateral ties, ErdoÄ?an said he would like to see a
new era dawn between the two countries with the election of Hollande.
`I hope¦ the re-establishment of ties will also correct errors
committed against Turkey in its EU membership process,' he said.
`No one should wait to see a rosy picture,' diplomatic sources told
the Hürriyet Daily News. `There are so many things Paris needs to do
before we declare reconciliation.'
Ties between Ankara and Paris were severely damaged during Nicholas
Sarkozy's presidency due to the French leader's strong opposition to
Turkish membership in the EU and an attempt by his government to
criminalize the denial of the Armenian genocide. Though the
legislation has been annulled by the French Constitutional Council,
Turkey will not immediately remove the mainly military sanctions it
has imposed on France.
`We will first have to see the outcome of the French parliamentary
elections in June,' ErdoÄ?an said in response to questions about the
sanctions. ErdoÄ?an did not hesitate to urge France's new leader to
leave behind all the populist rhetoric he used during the election
campaign, particularly with regard to the alleged Armenian genocide.
`I wish statements like `Turkey cannot join the EU before it resolves
its problems with Armenia' had not been made,' ErdoÄ?an said, and
advised the French leadership to leave history to historians.
France has blocked five of the 33 negotiation chapters of Turkey's EU
membership talks. Sources said the new leadership's stance on the
blocked chapters will be a crucial indicator for the future state of
bilateral relations.
May/08/2012
From: A. Papazian