PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said Turkey was “no longer a partner” in the Mediterranean but called for renewed dialogue with Ankara.
“It is clear that today Turkey is no longer a partner in the region,” Macron said at a press conference in Ajaccio, Corsica, ahead of a summit of Southern European countries.
But, reflecting a shift in his rhetoric in recent weeks, Macron offered something of an olive branch — after months of escalating tensions, both verbal and military, that included a standoff between a French frigate and Turkish ships in June.
Macron said his “deep wish is to reengage in a fruitful dialogue with Turkey” and to reach what he termed “a Pax Mediterranea” built on sharing energy resources and cultural and academic exchanges.
Thursday’s meeting of seven countries, known as the Med7 focused on the Eastern Mediterranean, Libya and migration.
Macron said he wanted the Med7 countries “to agree on strong common positions on our red lines.”
Turkey, a NATO ally and technically still a candidate country for EU membership, plays a central role in each but EU members still don’t fully agree on how best to respond. Nevertheless, in recent months, consensus has grown within the EU and also NATO on the need to stop Turkish gas drilling and exploring in waters also claimed by Greece and Cyprus.
“Europe must have a more united and a clearer voice,” Macron said ahead of the meeting, which also involves leaders from Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain.
He said he wanted the seven countries “to agree on strong common positions on our red lines” ahead of a European Council summit that will discuss the same issues on September 24 and 25.
Those red lines, Macron said, are “simple, respecting the sovereignty of every European member state, respecting international law, condemning unilateral actions.”
In a joint declaration at the end of the summit on Thursday night, the seven countries repeated the threat of sanctions that EU foreign ministers made at the end of August.
“In absence of progress in engaging Turkey into a dialogue and unless it ends its unilateral activities, the EU is ready to develop a list of further restrictive measures that could be discussed at the European Council on 24-25 September 2020,” the Med7 declaration said.
The seven also reiterated “full support and solidarity with Cyprus and Greece” and reaffirmed “determination” to use “all adequate means” to respond to Turkey’s actions.
But EU consensus on how to enforce those red lines remains elusive.
Only a handful of member countries have contributed to the European maritime mission to police an arms embargo on Libya, IRINI. Only three frigates are currently a part of it instead of the six initially planned.
There still isn’t a systematic process among EU member countries to share out refugees who arrive on Europe’s shores. In some cases, an ad-hoc group of countries steps in to take in new arrivals.
French officials acknowledge that the seven countries meeting in Corsica have differing priorities in the Mediterranean. Spain and Portugal are more immediately concerned with migrant arrivals from Morocco. Italy too has a more nuanced position, attempting to balance support for Greek and Cypriot sovereignty with its position on Libya, where is less at odds with Turkey than that of other EU members.
The Med7 declaration cited “the need for the EU to do its utmost to contribute to efforts to stabilize Libya,” and the importance of building up the capacity of the Libyan authorities to control their land and sea borders.
Ironically, that seems to urge support for the Libyan state when one of France’s biggest complaints about Turkey has been Ankara’s military support of the U.N.-recognized Libyan government.
Macron said resuming talks with Ankara should be done in “a realistic way” that makes clear what the EU is offering and what it expects of Turkey “with preconditions on which we will be uncompromising.”
Those preconditions are, however, a sticking point from the Turkish perspective. Greece and Cyprus want Ankara to withdraw its warships and exploration vessels before talks can resume.
“We are ready for dialogue without any preconditions,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told a European Parliament committee on Thursday. But, he said, if Athens insisted on preconditions, then Ankara would insist on its own.
Jacopo Barigazzi in Brussels contributed reporting.