Turkey has condemned French President Emmanuel Macron for allegedly accusing Ankara of fostering “anti-French propaganda” in Algeria, Turkish state-owned media reported.
Macron visited Algeria for a three-day trip this week in a bid to improve ties between Algiers and Paris. The visit comes two months after Algeria marked six decades of independence from French colonial rule.
The Turkish foreign ministry said on Saturday that accusations reportedly made by Macron accusing Turkey, as well as Russia and China, of stoking tensions between Algiers and Paris were “unacceptable”.
“It is extremely unfortunate that French President Emmanuel Macron made statements targeting our country, along with some other countries, during his visit to Algeria,” said ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic, according to Anadolu Agency.
Bilgic said Ankara hopes France will reach the “level of maturity” to face its colonial past “without blaming other countries”.
Macron visited the Saint-Eugene Christian and Jewish cemetery in Algiers on Friday.
He allegedly told reporters: “In Turkey, Russia and China, there are networks of activism, neo-colonial and imperialist agendas, and anti-France propaganda at hand.”
Macron has been heavily criticised for his previous comments on French-Algerian history.
Last year, Macron questioned Algeria’s existence as a nation before the French occupation and accused the government of fomenting “hatred towards France”.
Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune withdrew his country’s ambassador in response and banned French military aircraft from Algerian airspace.
Normal diplomatic relations have since resumed, along with overflights to French army bases in sub-Saharan Africa.
Following the visit this week, Macron and Tebboune declared a “new, irreversible dynamic of progress” in their nations’ ties.
However, controversial comments from the French leader – which include him saying relations between Algiers and Paris were “a love story which has its share of tragedy” – have mired coverage of the visit.
Source: The New Arab
