Macron focuses on Turkey, forgets about Russia, UAE in Maghreb

World 12:36 19.10.2021

French President Emmanuel Macron has focused so much on his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he has forgotten more serious threats like Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Maghreb, according to a French historian, Yeni Safak reports. 

In a blog post titled “France’s strange obsession with Turkey in the Maghreb” published in daily Le Monde, Middle East expert Jean-Pierre Filiu commented on the developments in the North African region and how they affected today’s status quo.

According to Filiu, Macron, who has a legitimate right to worry about smear campaigns against France, ended up forgetting that the greatest threats to the French influence in the region stemmed from Russia and the UAE.

He also argued that Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s visit to Ankara would mark a climax in Turkish-Algerian ties.

The incompetence of Macron in the region, the expert said, was a direct result of the erroneous policies he followed in Libya during the first three years of his tenure.

Macron’s support for Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar caused the restart of the civil war in 2019 and undermined the UN mediation work in the war-weary country, Filiu opined.

Furthermore, France “secretly” sided with Russia, the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia and “Haftar’s offensive resulted in throwing the Tripoli government into the arms of Turkey,” said the historian, adding that Turkey’s intervention reversed the military conditions and dispersed the Russian mercenaries.

Russia was by far the leading military partner of Algeria, Filiu asserted, and called it “paradoxical” that the French president condemned the anti-French political system in Algeria without naming Russia.

He underlined that Macron’s silence regarding the Algerian-Russian military partnership was disturbing given that he did not hesitate to reprove Malian officials when they want to resort to Russian mercenaries.

The 2020 “peace agreement” between Israel and the UAE eradicated France’s reservation towards the UAE, the historian observed, and Macron expressed his closeness, even “partnership” with Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Emirati crown prince who maintains relations with declared enemies of France such as Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader.

On the other hand, the French historian argued that Al Nahyan, who was left humiliated by Haftar’s defeat in Libya, sought for revenge by sabotaging democratic experience in Tunisia as incentives from Abu Dhabi and Cairo played a role in president’s act to suspend constitutional process in Tunisia.

“Let’s hope that Macron’s lucidity for Algerian regime is not too late when it comes to the goals of the UAE in the region. Otherwise, Franco-Maghreb ties will enter a zone of further turbulence and Turkey, without being the cause of it, would naturally benefit from that,” the author concluded.

IEPF issued a statement regarding Azerbaijani children at the UN Human Rights Council

News line

Turkish FM Fidan to attend 17th BRICS Leaders Summit in Rio de Janeiro
19:30 05.07.2025
Australia pledges $283M for green energy project by explosives maker
19:10 05.07.2025
OPEC+ speeds up oil output hikes, adds 548,000 bpd in August
18:45 05.07.2025
Inter completes signing of Ange-Yoan Bonny from Parma
18:20 05.07.2025
Turkish president sees Zangazur corridor 'as part of the geoeconomic revolution'
18:00 05.07.2025
Turkish president urges Azerbaijan, Russia to show restrain amid tension
17:45 05.07.2025
China says war 'not a solution' to Iranian nuclear issue
17:15 05.07.2025
At least 18 people injured after fire alert on Ryanair plane in Majorca as passengers abandon jet & leap from wing
17:00 05.07.2025
Azerbaijani PM meets with UNESCAP executive secretary
16:45 05.07.2025
Lebanese president affirms coordination with Syria, warns against sectarian tensions
16:15 05.07.2025
21 killed in Israeli strikes on tents, school-turned-shelters in Gaza Strip
16:00 05.07.2025
Turkish construction sector takes on international projects worth $6.2B in first half of 2025
15:45 05.07.2025
Azerbaijani woman wrestler becomes European champion
15:30 05.07.2025
Mayor: Death toll in Russian attacks on Kyiv reached two
15:15 05.07.2025
Texas floods kill 24 people and leave many missing from girls' summer camp
14:45 05.07.2025
Conor McGregor has interest in White House fight after Trump's UFC idea
14:30 05.07.2025
Netanyahu era sees 40% surge in Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank
14:15 05.07.2025
Equatorial Guinea sues France in UN court to block sale of Paris mansion
14:00 05.07.2025
US president 'disappointed' over phone call with Putin
13:45 05.07.2025
Academy of Azerbaijan`s State Security Service hosts graduation ceremony
13:30 05.07.2025
Azerbaijan and Pakistan ink memo in Khankendi
13:15 05.07.2025
Trump says there could be Gaza deal next week
13:00 05.07.2025
First flight from Türkiye to Syria launched
12:45 05.07.2025
US marks its 249th anniversary of independence
12:30 05.07.2025
Azerbaijan's role in regional integration discussed at London conference
12:00 05.07.2025
Uzbek Minister: Mirziyoyev's visit to Azerbaijan crucial for dev’t of transport links
11:45 05.07.2025
Trump says US will start talks with China on TikTok deal this week
11:30 05.07.2025
Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif concludes visit to Azerbaijan
11:15 05.07.2025
Pakistani premier proposes low-emissions corridor at Economic Cooperation Organization summit
11:00 05.07.2025
Rwanda pledges to deliver on its part of US-brokered peace deal with DR Congo
10:45 05.07.2025
Hezbollah rejects calls to disarm before end of Israeli ‘aggression’ against Lebanon
10:30 05.07.2025
Trump says Gaza ceasefire deal may come next week after ‘positive’ Hamas response
10:15 05.07.2025
Taiwan's ruling party launches campaign to oust opposition lawmakers
10:00 05.07.2025
EU says situation around GHF food distribution centers in Gaza 'untenable'
21:30 04.07.2025
UN nuclear watchdog pulls its inspectors out of Iran after Tehran suspends cooperation
21:10 04.07.2025
Afghanistan offers to host next ECO Summit
20:45 04.07.2025
Court hears testimonies on Armenian armed forces firing on civilians and children during Kalbajar occupation
20:35 04.07.2025
German, Dutch spy agencies claim Russia is increasingly using chemical warfare in Ukraine
20:20 04.07.2025
State of emergency declared after devastating wildfire in eastern Crete
20:00 04.07.2025
Pakistan's Lahore elected ECO tourism capital for 2027
19:45 04.07.2025
Hamısı