The Turkish diaspora has Germany by the throat
At the summit of EU leaders that began yesterday, one of the key issues will be measures to influence Turkey.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes about this, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
It is noted that for France the Turkish issue will be fundamental, since at the last summit in October it failed to achieve sanctions against Ankara.
“A number of European states have many claims against Erdogan - especially Greece and Cyprus. The Turkish leader ignored all admonitions and did not curtail geological exploration work in the parts of the Mediterranean Sea disputed with these countries. In addition, Erdogan made it clear that he would seek recognition of the division of Cyprus into two states - Greek and local Turks. Other claims against the Turkish leader - his actions in Syria, Libya, his role in the Karabakh conflict and authoritarian habits - are perceived in the EU as less serious, but still important,” the article notes.
However, experts assess the likelihood of the EU adopting anti-Turkish sanctions as low, since Germany is skeptical about the idea of punishing Turkey.
“This is understandable: there is a multi-million Turkish diaspora in the country. No serious German politician can afford to quarrel with her,” Sergei Fedorov, a leading researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, comments on the situation.
“It’s likely that there will be difficult negotiations and bargaining with Merkel at the summit. She doesn't want to quarrel with her constituents. But France can enlist the support of most other EU countries. Where there will be no controversy is in the matter of extending sanctions against Russia due to the Ukrainian events of 2014. A report from Germany and France on the implementation of the Minsk agreements will be heard. After this, the sanctions are expected to be extended for another year,” the publication writes.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.