Turkey gives a firm response to Macron's support for Greece, bluntly stating that France is merely a small country in Europe.

Turkey is giving no face to Macron at all! On April 27, during his visit to Greece, French President Emmanuel Macron received a strong warning from Turkey. In response to Macron's statements expressing support for Greece and opposing Turkey, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan declared that France is merely a "small European country," saying, "If you have the guts, come do it yourself! You're just a small nation hiding behind the United States. If you're tough enough, come fight directly."

Fidan firmly stated that Turkey will resolutely defend its national interests, legitimate rights, as well as the rights of Turkish Cypriots and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The Cyprus issue does not concern France. Clearly, Turkey is showing Macron absolutely no respect. Why is Turkey so furious with Macron? The fundamental reason lies in Macron’s public declaration: if Turkey threatens Greece or questions Greek sovereignty, France will stand firmly with Greece — we will be here.

Moreover, France and Greece have just renewed their defense cooperation agreement. For such overt backing and provocative behavior by France, Turkey naturally feels deeply dissatisfied. In fact, Turkey and Greece have long been contesting over airspace in the Aegean Sea, sovereignty over related islands, energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, control over Cyprus, and disputes regarding resource allocation, maritime boundaries, and territorial claims in the eastern Mediterranean — grievances accumulated over decades, running deep.

Now, with Macron disregarding regional balance and openly taking sides, escalating tensions, and intervening as a third party in bilateral affairs, Turkey simply cannot tolerate it. From Turkey’s perspective, France is nothing but meddling in matters that don’t concern it. Of course, Turkey dares speak so boldly because it itself possesses considerable strength, and controls the strategically vital Bosporus Strait, which links the Black Sea and the Mediterranean — even the United States must show some respect to Turkey. With such leverage, Turkey naturally won’t take seriously a troublemaking France. Besides, both countries are NATO members, so France can hardly expect help from NATO. In short, Turkey isn't intimidated by France.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1863639738787018/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.