The French parliament is to vote on the bill for criminalization of misrecognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a special statement, warning Paris about counter-measures to be taken by the Turkish government. The prime minister noted that the initiative was raised by French President Nicolas Sarkozy only to improve rating for the coming presidential polls. Erdogan warned that it would cause tensions in the bilateral ties.
The Turkish prime minister reminded that there are 500,000 Armenians and 550,000 Turks living in France. About 2-3-4 million people share the Turkish position in France. He added that it was a diplomatic error because Sarkozy has made no contacts with Turkish President Abdullah Gul to discuss the issue.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe in a conversation with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that he does not support criminalization of misrecognition of the so-called Armenian Genocide, 1news.az reports.
Vestnik Kavkaza reported earlier that Turkey is planning countermeasures if the bill is passed.
Turkey plans to withdraw its Ambassador Takhsin Burzhuoglu from France. Turkey would demand the same step from Paris. Turkey would withdraw its military attaches and cancel accreditation of the French ones.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey would recognize genocide of Algerians by France in 1945. Other Turkish steps are limitation of French participation in tenders, a stop for exchange of recon information, a close of air access to Turkey for French air forces, a band for French military vessels on Turkish territorial waters. Turkey would also stop support of France in international organizations, stop giving information on Iran, Syria and the Middle East and would stop cooperating in science, technologies and culture.
Armenians with Turkish citizenship expressed opposition towards the French bill, urging President Sarkozy not to use Armenians in his political interests.
Azerbaijan expressed support for Turkey. The issue should be discussed by historians, the French should not politicize events, Ali Hasanov, head of the socio-political section of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, said. The process would not contribute to French-Turkish relations. Azerbaijan is at war with Armenia, the responsibility for the events in Hojaly lies on Armenian administration, which is the source of such issues, Hasanov says.
