عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

France Recalls Envoy to Turkey after Erdogan’s ‘Unacceptable’ Remarks about Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2018. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2018. (AFP)
TT
20
TT

France Recalls Envoy to Turkey after Erdogan’s ‘Unacceptable’ Remarks about Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2018. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2018. (AFP)

France on Saturday condemned as unacceptable comments by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan questioning the mental health of French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, adding Paris was recalling its envoy to Ankara for consultations.

“President Erdogan’s comments are unacceptable. Excess and rudeness are not a method. We demand that Erdogan change the course of his policy because it is dangerous in every respect,” a French presidential official told AFP.

The official added that the French ambassador to Turkey was being recalled for consultations and would meet Macron to discuss the situation.

Erdogan earlier slammed Macron over his policies toward Muslims, saying that he needed “mental checks.”

Earlier this month, Macron pledged to fight “Islamist separatism”, which he said was threatening to take control in some Muslim communities around France, drawing a sharp rebuke from Erdogan.

The Turkish president said on Oct. 6 after Macron’s initial comments on “Islamist separatism”, that the remarks were “a clear provocation” and showed the French leader’s “impertinence”.

Turkey and France are NATO members but have been at odds over issues including policies in Syria and Libya, maritime jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean and the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Erdogan and Macron discussed their disagreements in a phone call last month and agreed to improve ties and keep communication channels open.

Most Viewed

 
World

Iranian Plot to Kill Israel's Ambassador to Mexico Contained, US Official Says

Commanders and members of the Revolutionary Guard Corps meet with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran August 17, 2023. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Commanders and members of the Revolutionary Guard Corps meet with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran August 17, 2023. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
TT
20
TT

Iranian Plot to Kill Israel's Ambassador to Mexico Contained, US Official Says

Commanders and members of the Revolutionary Guard Corps meet with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran August 17, 2023. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Commanders and members of the Revolutionary Guard Corps meet with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran August 17, 2023. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps plotted to assassinate Israel's ambassador to Mexico starting late last year, but the effort was contained and there is no current threat, a US official said on Friday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plot against the ambassador, Einat Kranz Neiger, was active through the first half of this year.

"The plot was contained and does not pose a current threat," the official told Reuters. "This is just the latest in a long history of Iran's global lethal targeting of diplomats, journalists, dissidents, and anyone who disagrees with them, something that should deeply worry every country where there is an Iranian presence."

The official declined to say how the plot was foiled or offer more details about the operation.

The United States and its allies have frequently alleged that Iran and its proxies have sought to launch violent attacks against Tehran's opponents.

Security services in Britain and Sweden warned last year that Tehran was using criminal proxies to carry out its violent attacks in those countries, with London saying it had disrupted 20 Iran-linked plots since 2022.

A dozen other countries have condemned what they called a surge in assassination, kidnapping, and harassment plots by Iranian intelligence services.

Britain's domestic spy chief, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum, said last month that Iran was "frantically" trying to silence its critics around the world, and cited how Australia had exposed Iranian involvement in antisemitic plots and Dutch authorities had revealed a failed assassination attempt.

World

EU Toughens Visa Rules for Russians

European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman
European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman
TT
20
TT

EU Toughens Visa Rules for Russians

European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman
European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman

The European Union has adopted stricter visa rules for Russian nationals in light of what it calls the "weaponization of migration, acts of sabotage and potential misuse of visas".

Russian nationals will no longer be eligible for multiple-entry visas and must apply for a new visa each time they travel to the EU, a statement from the European Commission read. It said the aim was to protect public policy and security, Reuters reported.

There will be limited exceptions for dissidents, independent journalists and human rights defenders.

"Starting a war and expecting to move freely in Europe is hard to justify," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on X.

"The EU is tightening visa rules for Russian nationals amid continued drone disruptions and sabotage on European soil. Travelling to the EU is a privilege, not a given."

World

German Military Creates Rapid Response Teams to Counter Drone Threats

A sign with a drone ban is displayed outside the airport in Munich, Germany October 6, 2025. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File
A sign with a drone ban is displayed outside the airport in Munich, Germany October 6, 2025. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File
TT
20
TT

German Military Creates Rapid Response Teams to Counter Drone Threats

A sign with a drone ban is displayed outside the airport in Munich, Germany October 6, 2025. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File
A sign with a drone ban is displayed outside the airport in Munich, Germany October 6, 2025. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File

The German military is setting up rapid response teams to counter acute drone threats, a top German military official said, most recently dispatching these experts to assist in Belgium.

"These anti-drone units are being established right now," Lieutenant General Alexander Sollfrank, who heads Germany's joint operations command and oversees the country's defense planning, told Reuters in an interview.

The German defense ministry said late on Thursday it was sending counter-drone experts to Belgium after a request from the country, which has been struggling with an increase in drone sightings near military installations and civilian airports.

DRONE SIGHTINGS CAUSE HEADACHES ACROSS EUROPE

"An advance party of air force personnel have arrived in Belgium to explore the situation and coordinate a temporary mission involving drone detection and counter-drone capabilities with the Belgian forces," the ministry said in a statement.

"The main party will follow shortly."

Sightings of drones over airports and military bases have become a constant problem in Belgium in recent days and have caused major disruptions across Europe in recent months.

They forced the temporary closures of airports in several countries including Sweden on Thursday.

Some officials have blamed the incidents on "hybrid warfare" by Russia. Moscow has denied any connection with the incidents.

Sollfrank declined to go into detail when talking about the new counter-drone units, citing operational security, but said a team sent to Copenhagen last month during an EU summit had been equipped with a mix of sensors and effectors.

"They have various systems to spot and counter drones. We have the option, for example, to assume control over a drone and land it at a specific location," said the general.

The counter-drone experts also have drones at their disposal that can eject nets to catch drones and thus take them down, as well as interceptors that ram hostile drones, he added.

BELGIUM AIRPORTS LATEST TO SPOT DRONES

Belgium's Liege airport resumed flights after a temporary halt due to a drone sighting on Friday, in the second such incident this week.

Drones spotted flying over airports in the capital, Brussels, and in Liege, in the country's east, forced the diversion of many incoming planes and the grounding of some due to depart on Tuesday.

The Belgian government called an emergency meeting of key government ministers and security chiefs on Thursday to address what the defense minister called a coordinated attack.