Erdogan says France visit will improve bilateral ties

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said his upcoming visit to France will improve bilateral relations.

In an interview with French broadcaster LCI ahead of his one-day visit to Paris, Erdogan said Turkey and France will “take important steps” on economy and politics.

“France and Turkey have many important steps to take politically, strategically and economically,” the Turkish president said.

Erdogan, who is due to meet his French counterpart in Paris on Friday, said his relationship with Macron had "a good start".

“I will make my first visit to Europe [since the beginning of the year 2018] to [meet] my friend Emmanuel Macron.”

The two leaders have already met at international summits, but Friday marks Erdogan’s first official visit to Paris since the election of the French president.

TRT World's Turkey analyst Yusuf Erim explains importance of the visit.

The Turkish president also noted that he had “excellent” contacts with former French presidents, including Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, during his 15 years in power.

“Now with Mr Macron we are in a new era, we had a good start with Mr Macron when it comes to regional and bilateral issues,” Erdogan said.

“The steps we took until now with Mr Macron are all in the right direction and I have a lot of hopes in Mr Macron, especially as we have trilateral cooperation among Turkey, France and Italy, in the field of the defense industry,” he added.

Fight against Daesh

Speaking about the fight against Daesh, Erdogan said Turkey remains “very sensible” on the issue.

He noted that “a great number” of foreign fighters coming from Syria have been arrested and sent back to their countries of origin.

“We have deported around 5,600 foreign fighters and banned entry of nearly 54,000 others to Turkey,” the Turkish president said and added this resolve will continue in the future as well.

Erdogan also mentioned the US’s use of the YPG in Syria. The YPG is armed wing of the PYD group, which is the Syrian wing of the PKK.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey as well as the US and EU. In its more than three-decade terror campaign against Turkey, over 40,000 people have been killed, including women and children.

The YPG’s ties with the US have been a longstanding complaint for Turkey, which has been subjected to a decades-long terror campaign by the PKK.

Erdogan noted that the US has sent nearly 3,000 trucks full of weapons and armoured carriers and tanks to YPG and related groups.

“Even today, the American soldiers and the members of the terrorist organisations continue to take photos side by side.

“American flags are unfortunately flying next to the flags of those terrorist groups. It is unacceptable,” the Turkish president added.

Iran protests

Speaking on the issue of recent street protests in Iran, Erdogan said he had spoken with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani.

“I talked with Mr Rouhani on the phone and the situation will stabilise within a day or two, there's no need to be worried about, that's what they told me," Erdogan said.

“Obviously some people from abroad are provoking this situation,” Erdogan said: “People from abroad should not meddle in internal affairs of Iran.”

Last Thursday, Iranians took to the streets in the northeastern cities of Mashhad and Kashmar to protest rising inflation and perceived government mismanagement.

These demonstrations were followed on Saturday and Wednesday by large pro-government protests.

At least 23 people have been killed - including a police officer - while hundreds more have reportedly been detained.