Erdoğan promoted the long-standing ties between the two countries during the closing ceremony of the Turkish Season in Paris, a cultural festival which lasted nine months and saw more than 600 activities take place in 120 cities.
The Turkish prime minister cited Amin Maalouf, a Lebanese-born French writer, and said his books demonstrated how Christian and Islamic cultures, languages and destinies were nested one within the other.
However, the Turkish media focused on French President Nicolas Sarkozy's absence from the event, which was interpreted as a demonstration that the French president does not want to pay much attention to Turkey's EU bid, EurActiv Turkey reports.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Season in France produced little result, EurActiv France writes, with Turkey's EU bid not on the official agenda of talks between Sarkozy and Erdoğan.
Before arriving in Paris, Erdoğan regretted in an interview with Le Figaro that President Sarkozy did not show the same positive attitude about Turkey's EU bid as his predecessor, Jacques Chirac.
"Only the leader has changed. The party is the same. That's why I find it difficult to understand why things happen this way. I hope my visit will help find a solution to this," he said.
Visit in the pipeline
Erdoğan also deplored the fact that Sarkozy had not visited Turkey recently. In contrast, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Turkey last week was the second time she had been since 2006, he said.
"Mr. Sarkozy hasn't come yet. He keeps talking about a trip he made in his youth. He should come and see what today's Turkey looks like," he said.
His statements appear to have come to fruition. After a 45-minute meeting with Erdoğan at the Elysée Palace, Sarkozy's services announced that the French president would visit Turkey soon after France had taken the helm of the G20 group in November.
However, Turkey's EU future does not appear to be the only conflicting issue between Paris and Ankara. Contrary to Sarkozy, who would like sanctions on Iran to be hardened, Erdoğan voiced scepticism over the effectiveness of any further sanctions against Iran in the dispute over its nuclear programme, saying he still supported a diplomatic solution.
Turkey is a rotating member of the UN Security Council. The United States, Britain, France, and Germany expect to meet with Russia and China in New York this week to begin drafting a new round of sanctions.
Once the five permanent, veto-holding Security Council members, plus Germany, have agreed, they will present the proposal to the 10 rotating council members. Lebanon, Turkey and Brazil are likely to oppose the idea. Security Council decisions require the support of nine members and no veto from any permanent member.
