Turkish top diplomat accuses French leader of hypocrisy

ANKARA/STRASBOURG- Anadolu Agency

Turkey's foreign minister slammed the French president's remarks against Turkey, accusing him of hypocrisy.     

During a speech in Strasbourg, France at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Emmanuel Macron criticized Turkey's policy on Syria as well as freedom of expression in the country.     

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said at the same event that Macron "exceeded his boundaries by defaming Turkey on freedom of expression."     

Çavuşoğlu also castigated Macron's criticism of Ankara on migration management, stressing that Turkey had implemented all its agreements with the EU on the issue.     

"How many migrants has Macron accepted in his country? Instead, he hosted YPG/PKK terrorists at Elysee Palace," Çavuşoğlu underlined.     

Çavuşoğlu accused the French president of being hypocritical, comparing him to "rooster crowing while its feet are covered in dirt'.     

He slammed Macron for his remarks on press freedom and human rights in Turkey, asserting that French intelligence "pressured journalists that investigate arms sale to some Gulf countries."     

"If Mr. Macron is so sensitive about freedom of expression and press today, why have journalists not been allowed to address the PACE?”     

"Journalists were excluded from the PACE's 70th anniversary celebration due to the blockage of France. Also, we know that Macron has shut down the media department in the Elysee," he added.     

In April, Macron hosted a delegation of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is closely affiliated with the YPG/PKK terrorist group.     

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The PYD/YPG is its Syrian branch.