French daily: Macron sends Turkish counterpart letter

PARIS

France's president said in a letter to his Turkish counterpart that he hoped stability would return to the European continent in 2021 with Ankara's help, according to the L'Opinion daily.

In an exclusive report on Friday, the French newspaper said President Emmanuel Macron used sincere words in his response to an earlier letter Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent to the French leader after Macron tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-December.

In the letter, which began with "Dear Tayyip," Macron expressed his wishes for the happiness and harmony of the Turkish president and nation, agreeing with Erdogan on the need to cooperate in fighting the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Noting that Macron voiced his willingness to discuss this issue, as well as the future of Turkey-EU ties, the daily reported that the leaders planned to hold a video meeting.

It added that relations between the two countries began to soften in mid-December following over a year of tensions, during which it alleged Erdogan rejected a request for a meeting by Macron amid clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Upper Karabakh and its surrounding areas last year.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas