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TURKISH PREMIER SAYS FRANCE CAN NO MORE ACT AS A MEDIATOR IN UPPER KARABAKH ISSUE
Cumhuriyet
Feb 13 2012
Turkey
Turkish premier has called on France to quit as a member of a group
aimed at securing a settlement to the conflict between Azerbaijan
and Armenia over Upper Karabakh.
BAKU- "France has clearly shown that it is a side [in the Upper
Karabakh dispute] after adopting a law penalizing denial of Armenian
allegations on Ottoman era incidents of 1915, which is why it has
to step down from the Minsk Group," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an
interview on the Azeri national TV network, ANS.
Erdogan said French President Nicolas Sarkozy had never been fair and
sincere in his relations with Armenians, adding that his judgement
as a Minsk member could not be trusted.
Upper house of the French parliament adopted last month a law that
makes denial of Armenian allegations punishable with a prison term
of one year and a fine of 45 thousand euros.
Minsk Group, with the U.S., Russia and France as members, is an OSCE
initiative aimed at encouraging a peaceful, negotiated resolution to
the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Upper Karabakh region.
Erdogan said Turkey fiercely rejected allegations of the Armenian
diaspora and he reiterated Turkey's proposal to open archives to
scientific research by a group of independent historians into the
incidents of 1915.
The Turkish premier said Turkey awaited a prospective decision by a
French constitutional council on the fate of the denial law, which
could be annulled by the council.
Cumhuriyet
Feb 13 2012
Turkey
Turkish premier has called on France to quit as a member of a group
aimed at securing a settlement to the conflict between Azerbaijan
and Armenia over Upper Karabakh.
BAKU- "France has clearly shown that it is a side [in the Upper
Karabakh dispute] after adopting a law penalizing denial of Armenian
allegations on Ottoman era incidents of 1915, which is why it has
to step down from the Minsk Group," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an
interview on the Azeri national TV network, ANS.
Erdogan said French President Nicolas Sarkozy had never been fair and
sincere in his relations with Armenians, adding that his judgement
as a Minsk member could not be trusted.
Upper house of the French parliament adopted last month a law that
makes denial of Armenian allegations punishable with a prison term
of one year and a fine of 45 thousand euros.
Minsk Group, with the U.S., Russia and France as members, is an OSCE
initiative aimed at encouraging a peaceful, negotiated resolution to
the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Upper Karabakh region.
Erdogan said Turkey fiercely rejected allegations of the Armenian
diaspora and he reiterated Turkey's proposal to open archives to
scientific research by a group of independent historians into the
incidents of 1915.
The Turkish premier said Turkey awaited a prospective decision by a
French constitutional council on the fate of the denial law, which
could be annulled by the council.