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Xinhua General News Service, China
December 16, 2011 Friday 10:40 AM EST
Turkish PM warns Sarkozy against French bill recognizing Armenian "
genocide" claims
ANKARA Dec. 16
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday warned French
President Nicolas Sarkozy against a French bill recognizing the deaths
of Armenians in 1915 as " genocide", saying that the bill would have
"grave consequences" on the bilateral relations, the semiofficial
Anatolian news agency reported.
"I want to express this clearly," Erdogan said in a letter sent to
Sarkozy, "these steps will lead to grave consequences for the
cultural, economic and political relations between France and Turkey,
and the responsibility of these consequences will fall on those who
initiated those steps."
France's National Assembly is expected to vote next week on the bill,
which recognizes the "genocide" claims and stipulates penalties for
those who publicly deny the claims.
Turkish officials said Thursday that if the French bill were to be
passed, Ankara would recall its ambassador in France and freeze the
bilateral ties.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic or economic ties since
Armenia declared independence in 1991. The two countries have been
bogged down in a dispute over the World War I-era deaths of Armenians
under the Ottoman rule. Armenia says the deaths occurred in a
"genocide," while Turkey denies the charge and insists that the
Armenians were victims of widespread chaos and governmental breakdown
as the Ottoman Empire collapsed before modern Turkey was created.
Turkey and Armenia signed protocols to normalize their relations and
open borders last year, but the pacts need to be approved by both
countries' parliaments before taking effect.
December 16, 2011 Friday 10:40 AM EST
Turkish PM warns Sarkozy against French bill recognizing Armenian "
genocide" claims
ANKARA Dec. 16
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday warned French
President Nicolas Sarkozy against a French bill recognizing the deaths
of Armenians in 1915 as " genocide", saying that the bill would have
"grave consequences" on the bilateral relations, the semiofficial
Anatolian news agency reported.
"I want to express this clearly," Erdogan said in a letter sent to
Sarkozy, "these steps will lead to grave consequences for the
cultural, economic and political relations between France and Turkey,
and the responsibility of these consequences will fall on those who
initiated those steps."
France's National Assembly is expected to vote next week on the bill,
which recognizes the "genocide" claims and stipulates penalties for
those who publicly deny the claims.
Turkish officials said Thursday that if the French bill were to be
passed, Ankara would recall its ambassador in France and freeze the
bilateral ties.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic or economic ties since
Armenia declared independence in 1991. The two countries have been
bogged down in a dispute over the World War I-era deaths of Armenians
under the Ottoman rule. Armenia says the deaths occurred in a
"genocide," while Turkey denies the charge and insists that the
Armenians were victims of widespread chaos and governmental breakdown
as the Ottoman Empire collapsed before modern Turkey was created.
Turkey and Armenia signed protocols to normalize their relations and
open borders last year, but the pacts need to be approved by both
countries' parliaments before taking effect.