Türkiye calls Macron's remarks in Algeria 'unacceptable'

ISTANBUL

French President Macron's remarks on Türkiye during his current visit to Algeria were "unacceptable," said Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

"It is extremely unfortunate that French President Emmanuel Macron made statements targeting our country, along with some other countries, during his visit to Algeria," ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said in a written response to questions by reporters.

"It is unacceptable that French President Macron, who has trouble confronting his colonial past in Africa, especially in Algeria, tries to get rid of his colonial past by accusing other countries, including ours," he added.

Bilgic said Ankara hopes France will reach the "level of maturity" to face its colonial past "without blaming other countries."

He said that if France wants to understand why Paris faces a backlash from the African continent, "it should look for the source of this in its colonial past and its efforts to continue (colonialism) with different methods and try to correct this."

"Claiming that this backlash is caused by the activities of third countries, instead of confronting and solving the problems related to their own past, is not only denial of a sociological phenomenon and history, but also a reflection of the distorted mentality of some politicians," he said.

Stressing that Türkiye is developing its relations with both Algeria and other countries in the African continent, he said that these relations are based on a "mutual trust and win-win relationship."

In Algeria for a three-day visit, Macron on Friday claimed that networks originating from Russia, China, and Türkiye are carrying out "anti-French propaganda" in Africa.