Turkey cuts contacts with France over bill

Turkey announced it cancelled bilateral military and economic cooperation and suspended all bilateral political consultation with France, describing the French vote as doing politics via racism and xenophobia ahead of presidential elections. "This is the first state [of measures against France]. New measures could be brought to the agenda and implemented according to progress of the bill in France," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday in a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart. Erdogan blamed the French leader of trying to "gain favor over Turcophobia and Islamophobia in general terms just for individual ambitions." The prime minister said they would travel to other countries in the world and tell of the "genocides" carried out by France, which the country had tried to make forgotten. As a reaction to Paris' vote, Erdogan said Turkey recalled its ambassador to France. "From now on, we cancel all bilateral military and economic visits, including courses, seminars and personnel exchange activities," Erdogan said. Turkey would not cooperate with France in projects of the EU, he said. Ankara suspended all political consultations and cancelled bilateral military activities and joint military exercises, he said. Turkey also cancelled blanket permission for flyovers, takeoffs and landings of French military flights, Turkey's premier said, but individual permission would be applied. Erdogan announced Turkey cancelled permissions of port visits by military ships. Turkey would not participate in a bilateral economic and trade partnership meeting in 2012, he said. The prime minister thanked prudent French politicians who rejected the bill. "We hope they would not go a way with no return," he said.