The Turkish Presidency’s official Twitter account on Wednesday posted a picture of French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with a message saying it is “valuable” to meet Turkey’s president.
The message came after a meeting on Tuesday between Erdoğan and Macron in New York in response to Macron’s complaints about having to speak with Turkish President Erdoğan every 10 days.
The Twitter message, which was written in French, said: “La rencontre avec le président de la Turquie est une valeur,” which could mean meeting Turkey’s president is valuable.
Macron’s remarks came during an interview with Le Point magazine, which asked if Macron was aiming to be “cool” on the global stage.
“The global stage is not really a ’cool’ scene, you know. … I am the one who has to talk with Erdoğan every 10 days,” said Macron.
While Macron did not comment any further, an aide later said that Macron was referring to the serious nature of the conversations with Erdoğan.
Macron has phoned Erdoğan several times to request the immediate release of French journalist Loup Bureau, who was arrested on Aug. 1 in the southeastern Turkish province of Şırnak on charges of aiding and supporting a terrorist organization.