Francois Hollande: Erdogan cannot be both with the West and Russia

Former French president Francois Hollande's experience on the International stage is replete with stories. From Putin to Obama or Tsipras, Hollande recorded his memories, with what happened behind the cameras, in a book, which is already a bestseller in France. The former French president spoke exclusively to "TA NEA" newspaper.

Mr. President, in your latest book, Upheavals, you refer to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and describe him as a contradictory personality. Why?

Because Turkish President Erdogan has it all. He is a member of NATO and therefore "passes" as an ally of the Europeans and the US and on the other hand he associates with Vladimir Putin, for good or bad reasons. Good reasons when it comes to grain supplies, bad reasons when he wants to appear as a possible mediator for an agreement to end the war, which Ukrainians today cannot accept. This contradiction must, one way or another, be resolved.

Can this characteristic of his personality worsen Greek-Turkish relations?

NATO should consider this issue an internal problem. That is, we cannot leave two Alliance member countries in confrontation and at risk of explosion if things get worse. It is important that everything is done so that there is no other way than dialogue and negotiation.

Charles Michel: The EU-Western Balkans Summit will take place on December 6 in Tirana You say that lying is second nature to Putin. Is Erdogan like that too? Do you think that what Putin is doing in Ukraine, Erdogan can do in Greece?

No. Erdogan knows very well that any attack against an Alliance member country would entail a significant risk of being excluded, not only from NATO, but also from all discussions in Europe, because he too wanted to be a member of the...