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French President Emmanuel Macron said his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pursuing an “expansionist policy” that “mixes nationalism and Islam” that is not only “incompatible with European interests”, but is the opposite. “Europe’s destabilizing factor,” he said in an interview with Paris Match magazine published today.

“Europe needs to see the facts and take responsibility,” Macron said, according to Greek City Times. “I am not in favor of escalation. But on the other hand, I do not believe in weak diplomacy. We have sent a message that European solidarity makes sense,” said the French head of state, who is due to receive German Chancellor Angela Merkel today at the Fort de Brégançon, in southeastern France, the French presidents’ summer residence.

Erdogan called the actions by countries resisting Turkey’s aggressive Mediterranean policy as “piracy” on Wednesday. This comes as unilateral hydrocarbon exploration by Ankara has escalated tensions, especially with Greece.

Without naming it directly, Erdogan spoke out against the French government, as relations between Ankara and Paris became increasingly strained recently.

France announced last week the deployment of two warships and two war jets to the eastern Mediterranean as a sign of practical support for Athens, which has reportedly caused some inconvenience to the German government, although the Elysee assures that there is “no fundamental disagreement” between Paris and Berlin.

“France is a Mediterranean power,” Macron said in the interview, adding that his country has no “unambiguous relationship with Turkey.”