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WORLD PRESS ON FRENCH-TURKISH RELATIONS
Vestnik Kavkaza
Nov 6 2012
Russia
On October 6th Hurriyet published an article by Barcin Yinanc headlined
'Turkey rushed to Paris but the French kiss is not coming.'
"I really doubt if there was any other country that rejoiced so much
when Francois Hollande was elected as France's new president in May.
This came after the French Constitutional Court's February decision
repealing the law criminalizing denial of the Armenians' claims of
genocide," the article begins.
"After the terrible Sarko years, a light at the end of the tunnel
appeared to put relations back on track. Turkey ended sanctions
against France in June following a meeting between Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hollande," Yinanc says.
"Ankara at that time ignored statements made by Hollande during the
electoral campaign that he would seek ways to rework the denial bill
despite the court's ruling. There is no evidence that Hollande might
have discreetly told Erdogan that he would not take action about his
campaign promise and gain time by telling the Armenians that they
are looking for a way to bypass the country's highest legal authority."
"Ankara might have thought that the court's ruling had so well buried
the denial bill that it was safe to think Hollande will drag its feet
for a long time and thus decided to lift the sanctions. The rationale
behind the decision was also to encourage Hollande not to revisit
the Armenian issue, along with the belief that the move would also
serve as an incentive for the Socialist president to lift Sarkozy's
veto over EU accession talks," the article reads.
"Actually, the satisfaction of seeing Hollande winning the elections
stemmed more from the hope of seeing the French lift their veto
over five chapters on accession talks than the hope of seeing a
more pro-Turkish approach on the Armenian problem. The belief that
Hollande's staff was more aware of the strategic importance of Turkey,
and less fanatical in their objections to Turkey's entry into the EU,
naturally led to the expectation that Hollande would take the decision
to lift the veto."
"But we have to recall that Ankara told Nicolas Sarkozy's France that
so long as the veto is there, the French should not expect bilateral
ties to thrive as if there is no abnormality on the EU side. The
current situation is not sustainable and the "Hollande Spring" in
bilateral ties might come to an end if the French don't make up their
mind by winter," the author concludes.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/world-press-review/politics/33386.html
Vestnik Kavkaza
Nov 6 2012
Russia
On October 6th Hurriyet published an article by Barcin Yinanc headlined
'Turkey rushed to Paris but the French kiss is not coming.'
"I really doubt if there was any other country that rejoiced so much
when Francois Hollande was elected as France's new president in May.
This came after the French Constitutional Court's February decision
repealing the law criminalizing denial of the Armenians' claims of
genocide," the article begins.
"After the terrible Sarko years, a light at the end of the tunnel
appeared to put relations back on track. Turkey ended sanctions
against France in June following a meeting between Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hollande," Yinanc says.
"Ankara at that time ignored statements made by Hollande during the
electoral campaign that he would seek ways to rework the denial bill
despite the court's ruling. There is no evidence that Hollande might
have discreetly told Erdogan that he would not take action about his
campaign promise and gain time by telling the Armenians that they
are looking for a way to bypass the country's highest legal authority."
"Ankara might have thought that the court's ruling had so well buried
the denial bill that it was safe to think Hollande will drag its feet
for a long time and thus decided to lift the sanctions. The rationale
behind the decision was also to encourage Hollande not to revisit
the Armenian issue, along with the belief that the move would also
serve as an incentive for the Socialist president to lift Sarkozy's
veto over EU accession talks," the article reads.
"Actually, the satisfaction of seeing Hollande winning the elections
stemmed more from the hope of seeing the French lift their veto
over five chapters on accession talks than the hope of seeing a
more pro-Turkish approach on the Armenian problem. The belief that
Hollande's staff was more aware of the strategic importance of Turkey,
and less fanatical in their objections to Turkey's entry into the EU,
naturally led to the expectation that Hollande would take the decision
to lift the veto."
"But we have to recall that Ankara told Nicolas Sarkozy's France that
so long as the veto is there, the French should not expect bilateral
ties to thrive as if there is no abnormality on the EU side. The
current situation is not sustainable and the "Hollande Spring" in
bilateral ties might come to an end if the French don't make up their
mind by winter," the author concludes.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/world-press-review/politics/33386.html