APPROACHES OF THE FRANCO-GERMAN TANDEM TO INTERACTION WITH TURKEY IN THE HOTBEDS OF INSTABILITY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

Abstract

The article analyzes the position of the informal EU leaders - France and Germany - on two long and serious crises - Libyan and Syrian, which since the «Arab Spring» have had a direct and destabilizing impact on the EU security. Although the latest concept paper «Strategic Compass», adopted by the EU in March 2022, notes that European countries will seek to resolve conflicts, including with the involvement of Turkey, so far the EU member states have not developed a unified approach to the problem, nor to their interaction with Ankara. In this regard, the authors analyze in detail the positions of Berlin and Paris towards relations with Ankara in general, as well as in the Libyan and Syrian crises, highlighting the common and specific for the French and German approaches. The article shows both the converging factors and the main problems complicating the relations between France and Germany, on the one hand, and Turkey, on the other. It is noted that the formation of the approach of each of the countries of the tandem is influenced by the geographical factor and various tools typical for the foreign policy tradition of France and Germany. Finally, it is concluded that Franco-German tandem does not have a unified line in the conflicts examined, although the two countries’ approaches are not always at odds with each other. It was revealed that despite the general disagreement with Turkey’s independent policy in the region, France and Germany are not ready to take forceful measures to make Ankara to align with the EU/NATO positions. In the near future, it is unlikely that both powers will be able to work out a coordinated line of interaction with Turkey in the centers of instability in the Mediterranean.