Ankara engaging in ‘constructive engagement,’ reducing tensions, says French president

Ankara was moving away from escalation resulting in easing tensions, but European countries are cautious, according to French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday regarding Turkey’s “constructive engagement” in the Mediterranean to halt annual migratory flows.

NEWS IN ENGLISH 26.06.2021, 10:57 Pelin Su Tamer

Ankara engaging in ‘constructive engagement,’ reducing tensions, says French president

Macron said that there were “useful discussions” on the dangerous crossing attempts in the Mediterranean around summertime and dialogue of “openness and firmness” between Turkey and the EU “has paid off.”

His comments came during a news conference where he gave an overview of discussions held at an EU summit in Brussels.

“Last year we had defined milestones for Ankara to get out of the attitude of escalation in which it had entered and to take the path of a constructive engagement with the EU,” he said, adding that tensions with Turkey have reduced and some of the demands made by the EU “have been followed by action.”

“We can only encourage Turkey to continue its efforts, in particular by being constructive in the treatment of the various regional conflicts,” said Macron, referring to inter-Cypriot discussions.

He said the “appeasement is evident” with Turkey but the EU will continue to be vigilant during the summer in full support of Cyprus and Greece to re-engage in the joint work on the question of refugees. “Turkey has a responsibility and plays an important role,” he said.

The EU signed a new deal with Turkey on Friday providing additional assistance of €3 billion ($3.6 billion) over the next few years to provide assistance to Syrian refugees on its territory and effectively prevent migrants from crossing the Mediterranean.

Still, thousands of refugees from West Asia and Africa risk their lives during the summer months and attempt to cross the sea to reach Europe.

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Takımlar	O	P
1. Galatasaray	33	90
2. Fenerbahçe	33	86
3. Trabzonspor	33	55
4. Beşiktaş	33	51
5. Başakşehir	33	49
6. Rizespor	33	48
7. Kasımpasa	33	46
8. Antalyaspor	33	45
9. Alanyaspor	33	45
10. Sivasspor	33	45
11. A.Demirspor	33	41
12. Samsunspor	33	39
13. Ankaragücü	33	37
14. Kayserispor	33	37
15. Konyaspor	33	36
16. Gaziantep FK	33	34
17. Hatayspor	33	33
18. Karagümrük	33	33
19. Pendikspor	33	30
20. İstanbulspor	33	16

Takımlar	O	P
1. Eyüpspor	31	69
2. Göztepe	31	63
3. Ahlatçı Çorum FK	31	55
4. Sakaryaspor	31	54
5. Bodrumspor	31	52
6. Kocaelispor	31	52
7. Bandırmaspor	31	47
8. Boluspor	31	47
9. Gençlerbirliği	31	47
10. Erzurumspor	31	42
11. Ümraniye	31	37
12. Manisa FK	31	36
13. Keçiörengücü	31	36
14. Şanlıurfaspor	31	34
15. Tuzlaspor	31	33
16. Adanaspor	31	32
17. Altay	31	15
18. Giresunspor	31	7

Takımlar	O	P
1. Arsenal	34	77
2. M.City	33	76
3. Liverpool	34	74
4. Aston Villa	34	66
5. Tottenham	32	60
6. M. United	33	53
7. Newcastle	33	50
8. West Ham United	34	48
9. Chelsea	32	47
10. Bournemouth	34	45
11. Brighton	33	44
12. Wolves	34	43
13. Fulham	34	42
14. Crystal Palace	34	39
15. Brentford	34	35
16. Everton	34	33
17. Nottingham Forest	34	26
18. Luton Town	34	25
19. Burnley	34	23
20. Sheffield United	34	16

Takımlar	O	P
1. Real Madrid	32	81
2. Barcelona	32	70
3. Girona	32	68
4. Atletico Madrid	32	61
5. Athletic Bilbao	32	58
6. Real Sociedad	32	51
7. Real Betis	32	48
8. Valencia	32	47
9. Villarreal	32	42
10. Getafe	32	40
11. Osasuna	32	39
12. Sevilla	32	37
13. Las Palmas	32	38
14. Deportivo Alaves	32	35
15. Rayo Vallecano	32	34
16. Mallorca	32	31
17. Celta Vigo	32	31
18. Cadiz	32	25
19. Granada	32	18
20. Almeria	32	14