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2025-04-12 The Grand Turk
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A Knife in Erdogan's Back: Why Macron Is Pleasing Turkey's Turkic Allies
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Victor Vasiliev
[REGNUM] The first EU-Central Asia summit, held in Samarkand on April 3–4, was attended by EU leaders, as well as the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. The high-level event would have gone unnoticed in Russia if not for one scandalous detail.
Over the course of two days, the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, laid out everything that European diplomacy has been voicing for three years now: green energy, water management, communications, transport, and calls to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The only thing added was the newfangled topic of critically important materials.
Following the summit, a Joint Declaration consisting of 20 points was approved. However, point 4, which was noted by a number of experts, contained an anti-Turkish call.
In particular, the signatories of the declaration reaffirm their firm commitment to UN Security Council Resolution 550 of 1984.
It condemns “illegal separatist activities” in the Turkish-occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus in violation of previous resolutions, and again calls on UN member states not to recognize the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Turkish international journalist and war correspondent Arda Zenturk called the events a “geopolitical blow” to Turkey and an “act of betrayal.”
Another interesting thing is that during the summit, Turkish leader Recep Erdogan made a statement that “by getting closer to Turkey, Europe can also strengthen its relations with the Central Asian countries, and this is also a great opportunity for the Central Asian countries that want to free themselves from the influence of Russia and China.”
At the very least, Türkiye was counting on certain prospects as a result of this summit, playing on the contradictions between the EU and Russia, and certainly did not expect to get a knife in the back from its allies in the Organization of Turkic States (OTG).
Since the Central Asian countries themselves did not react to this scandal at all, one can assume that the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan simply did not bother to carefully read the final declaration. And one can understand them.
This is the third time that high-level meetings of this format have been held. The previous ones were held in 2022–2023 in Astana, Kazakhstan, and Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan. At first glance, it is not even clear why this meeting is designated as the “first” and why the European side attaches special importance to it. Moreover, all the rhetoric and declarative part of the events are repeated exactly.
FRENCH HAIRPIN
The position of France had an undoubted influence on the text of the final declaration. It is France that has set the tone in all foreign policy activities on behalf of the EU in recent years.
France has also consistently failed to recognise the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. In 1983, the Fifth Republic supported UN Security Council Resolution 541, which declared the TRNC's declaration of independence legally invalid.
In 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Erdogan's calls for a two-state solution to the Cyprus issue, calling them a "provocation."
In December 2024, French military aircraft stationed at Paphos Air Base under a 2017 defence cooperation agreement between France and the Greek Cypriot administration violated TRNC airspace, sparking protests from the Northern Cypriot authorities.
These actions reflect France's traditional position of supporting the unity of Cyprus and non-recognition of the TRNC.
In general, it can be confidently assumed that the theses of point 4 of the Samarkand summit declaration were prudently “put in” by the French side. And while French foreign diplomacy is active in the Mediterranean, there is no point in talking about any potential membership of Turkey in the EU.
But, what is most interesting, a similar statement is partly true for Central Asia. If only because, over the past few years, Paris has achieved a significant increase in influence in this region, both in the diplomatic dimension and in the economic one.
France is pursuing its own strategy in Central Asia in defiance of both Moscow and Ankara, and its successes have come as a surprise to many traditional players in the region.
FRANCE'S STRATEGY IN CENTRAL ASIA
Last November, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev paid a state visit to Paris. The French recently hosted Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on a state visit. And Macron's visit to Kyrgyzstan was announced the other day. Such attention to the region is not accidental.
Emmanuel Macron's priorities are well illustrated by the details of the reception for the Uzbek leader, which took place on March 11-13. The French side threw a lavish banquet. The special attention to the leader of the Central Asian country is surprising for France, which has never organized such celebrations for its loyal satellites from Africa.
And then there was a whole reception at the Elysee Palace, attended by official delegations of the two countries, members of the French government, famous figures of culture, art and science, representatives of business circles and the public.
The French know how to make sweeping decisions in foreign policy. This was evident in the South Caucasus (the rise of Nikol Pashinyan and the velvet revolution of 2018 in Armenia are largely French style) and in Ukraine. And now Central Asia.
The official website of the President of Uzbekistan states the following about the results of the visit:
"A Joint Declaration on the establishment of strategic partnership relations was adopted, as well as a solid package of agreements on various areas of cooperation. The leader of our country took part in a round table with the heads of leading companies, banks and organizations of France. A Cooperation Program in the investment and innovation spheres was adopted, providing for the implementation of specific cooperation projects worth 6.5 billion euros."
Everything is explained quite simply. Uzbekistan ranks 10th in the world in terms of uranium reserves and 5th in terms of its production. France is the world's main consumer of uranium, while there are no deposits in the country itself.
It was uranium that at one time determined Paris’s special strategic interest in its former colonies on the Black Continent, in many of which it is mined (primarily in Niger, but also in Mali and the Central African Republic).
As France is forced to leave Africa due to objective reasons (terrorist threats, lack of security and convenient logistics) and pressure from competitors (Russia first and foremost), its gaze turns to the post-Soviet space. First and foremost, to Uzbekistan.
Coinciding with the Uzbek leader's state visit to Paris, French nuclear fuel company Orano said it would begin developing its South Dzhengeldy uranium mining project in Uzbekistan through its Nurlikum Mining joint venture with Uzbek state mining company Navoiyuran.
The mine is expected to operate for more than ten years, with peak production forecast to be 700 tonnes of uranium per year.
In addition to Orano, more than 50 French companies successfully operate in Uzbekistan in various sectors of the economy, including energy, infrastructure, environmental protection, aviation, food production and tourism.
Among the most well-known are SUEZ and Veolia (large companies in the field of water and waste management, actively involved in projects to develop water supply and sanitation infrastructure in Uzbekistan), TotalEnergies and Voltalia (energy companies expanding their presence in Uzbekistan, involved in renewable energy and infrastructure projects), Lactalis (one of the largest dairy companies in the world) and others.
Economic expansion is supported by initiatives in the field of culture and education: French lyceums and cultural centers have begun operating, scholarships and academic cooperation have been launched, various media and NGOs receive support from the French embassy.
A similar and quite successful strategy is being implemented by France in Kazakhstan.
Of course, Paris itself cannot compete with the influence of China or Russia in the region. However, it manages to play well on the desire of some local elites to reduce dependence on their usual partners. And at the same time, France really does have something to offer in economic terms, unlike Turkey.
France, like the EU as a whole, supports the diversification of foreign policy and economic relations between the countries of the region.
Given the leading role of French diplomacy in the EU, Paris can thus play at a fairly high level, at least outplaying Erdogan (as can be seen in the example above), adding to Russia’s troubles (competing in the nuclear industry and regularly recording a position in support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity) and reducing the region’s dependence on Chinese loans and technologies within the framework of the Belt and Road initiative.
And finally, after Joe Biden's defeat in the US presidential election and the significant reduction of the American presence in the region, Paris has become the new favorite destination for some of the local intelligentsia and liberal-minded public.
France does not directly state its political demands in the region, if only because it has no historical interests in Central Asia. But it does softly and effectively position itself as an alternative to the influence of Russia, China and Turkey.
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Posted by badanov 2025-04-12 00:00||
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