Turkey on Saturday denounced the comments “unacceptable” and “unwelcomeby French President Emmanuel Macron who accused the day before in Algeria of “networksmanipulated by Ankara, Moscow and Beijing to spread anti-French propaganda in Africa.
Visiting the former French colony, Emmanuel Macron on Friday called on young Algerians and Africans to “don’t get carried away” by “the immense manipulation” of “networks“remote control”underhand» by foreign powers who present France as «the enemy“. He named Turkey, Russia and China, giving them a “influential, neo-colonial and imperialist agenda“.
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Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic denounced comments “extremely unwelcome“, in a press release. “It is unacceptable that French President Macron, who has difficulty coping with his colonial past in Africa, particularly in Algeria, is trying to free himself from this colonial past by accusing other countries, including our country“, he added.
“We hope that France reaches as soon as possible the necessary maturity to face its colonial past without accusing other countries“, he continued. The French president’s three-day visit to Algeria was aimed at turning the page on tensions in relations between the two countries in recent months.
The memorial question around French colonization (1830-1962) and the bloody war of liberation had caused a serious quarrel between the two countries last fall, after remarks by Emmanuel Macron on which he made amends.
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This visit also comes at a time when European countries are trying to find an alternative to Russian hydrocarbon deliveries, in particular by strengthening their supply from Algeria, a major gas producer, which in return expects to see confirmed its role as regional power.
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