Turkey hopes Hollande’s win improves relations with France

NowLebanon
May 8 2012

Turkey hopes Hollande’s win improves relations with France

May 8, 2012

Turkey has welcomed French president-elect Francois Hollande’s victory
over Nicolas Sarkozy, an unpopular figure with Ankara who had firmly
opposed the country’s EU membership bid.

France was one of Turkey’s biggest obstacles to European Union
membership under Sarkozy, who repeatedly said Turkey had no place in
Europe and antagonized Ankara on issues such as its official denial of
what it says was the World War I genocide of Armenians.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that Turkish
leaders had always had better communication with France’s Socialists,
Hollande’s party.

“They have always supported us on this issue [EU membership],” Erdogan
told journalists.

“I hope that during this mandate we will have better communications
that will reverse the ongoing attitude between France and Turkey, so
that we can have cooperation reestablished between the two countries
within the EU alignment process.”

Erdogan last year accused Sarkozy of trying to boost his election
prospects by tapping anti-Muslim and anti-Turkish sentiment with a law
that outlawed denying the 1915 Armenian genocide under Ottoman Turkey.

The bill passed with Sarkozy’s backing, but France’s Constitutional
Council struck it down in February, ruling it violated freedom of
expression.

“We have witnessed a very negative attitude of the Sarkozy rule
towards Turkey,” Erdogan said Monday.

“I hope the attitude of France [under Hollande] will be much more
positive, much more constructive.”

Sarkozy seemed to have a knack for making Turkey grind its collective teeth.

He was criticized during a February 2011 visit for offences ranging
from the length of his stay – Turkish officials called it too short –
to chewing gum as he came off the plane and showing his shoes to
people during meetings, an insult in Muslim countries.

Erdogan openly welcomed Sarkozy’s defeat, recalling that the French
leader had said he would leave politics if he lost the election.

“Mr. Sarkozy had promised not to continue in politics. Now he has no
choice. He’ll no doubt go on vacation!” he said.

“There was no chemistry between Sarkozy and Erdogan,” said Cengiz
Aktar, a European affairs analyst.

“Maybe because they had similar personalities – brusque, very tough.”

But on at least one key issue in French-Turkish relations, Hollande
will not likely differ from his predecessor: he has shown the same
determination as Sarkozy to pass a law against denying the Armenian
genocide.

In April, he said in a speech to France’s Armenian community: “Your
history will never be forgotten because no one will ever again be
allowed to contest it.”

But he has called for “renewed dialogue” with Ankara.

And many in Turkey are simply glad he is not Sarkozy.

“We don’t know the new president’s personality very well, but it’s
highly unlikely there will be the same antagonism with him as with
Sarkozy,” said Istanbul political commentator Sinan Vlgen.

Analyst Hugh Pope, head of the International Crisis Group’s Turkey and
Cyprus program, called Hollande’s win a chance to normalize
French-Turkish relations.

“Sarkozy used his refusal to let Turkey join the EU for internal
political ends,” he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress