Jean-Yves Le Drian wants Ankara to take steps to ease tension before the European Council

Disagreements are piling up between France and Turkey. Paris is expecting "action" from Turkey before the European Council of 12 December, which will address the issue of new sanctions against Ankara, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Sunday 22 November in Le Grand Jury RTL-Le Figaro-LCI.  

While a European Council will put the question of possible sanctions against Turkey on the table at the beginning of December, Paris expects "action" from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "It is not enough that we have seen reassuring statements from the president over the last two or three days," Jean-Yves Le Drian told the RTL-Le Figaro-LCI Grand Jury on Sunday.   

The Foreign Minister reiterated France's opposition to Turkey's "fait accompli policy" and denounced its "expansionist will". From Syria to Nagorno-Karabakh, via Iraq, Cyprus, Greece and Libya. Turkey has never been so committed outside its borders. According to Le Figaro, the Turkish President's foreign policy today relies on the army to weigh its full weight on the world stage.  

The "expansionist will" of Ankara is, according to Le Drian, a policy "where they are in fact attacking two EU member countries, Greece and Cyprus", or "in Nagorno-Karabakh, where they are also sending Syrian mercenaries".  

Franco-Turkish relations have deteriorated over time, culminating when the Turkish president led an attack on France in the Muslim world after the controversial cartoons of Mohammed by the French media Charlie Hebdo, calling for a boycott of French products. "These disagreements need to be resolved, but it would take the will of Turkey to do so. Erdogan's slanderous remarks (against Emmanuel Macron) do not lend themselves to dialogue," said Le Drian.   

Since his interview in The Economist a year ago, in which he spoke of NATO's "brain death" shaking its partners, Emmanuel Macron has opposed all Erdogan's provocations. According to AFP, he is trying to bring together his partners in the EU, but also in the Atlantic Alliance for his policy.  

The issue of Turkey was raised by the head of French diplomacy during the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week. According to Paris, it is even one of the few areas of consensus between Donald Trump's minister and French leaders.  

"The European Union announced in October that it would review Turkey's position on these various issues at the December European Council in a few days' time. That is when we will verify the commitments", concluded Le Drian.  

On Saturday, Turkey extended the mission of the Oruç Reis until 29 November in a maritime zone that it is contesting with Greece, because the discovery of vast gas deposits is whetting Turkey's appetite. The presence of this ship has increased tensions with the EU, which this month renewed sanctions against Ankara for another year and plans to tighten them. 

On Saturday, in a speech to the congress of his party, the AKP, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he wanted "stronger cooperation with our European friends and allies". "We do not see each other outside Europe. We hope to build our future together with Europe", said the Turkish leader.  

The Turkish leader called on Saturday for dialogue with the European Union. Among these expected events, "there are some very simple things to do in the Eastern Mediterranean, in Libya, and also in Nagorno-Karabakh," he said.