Turkish president: France has to stop its mediation activity in OSCE MG

Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 23 / Trend A.Badalova, A. Tagiyeva/ France has to stop its mediation activity in the OSCE Minsk Group following the adoption of a bill criminalizing denial of the so-called "Armenian Genocide", TRT Haber TV Channel quotes Turkish President Abdullah Gul as saying. The president said the adoption of such a bill harms the stability in the Caucasus, in particular it will further comlpicate the current situation between Azerbaijan and Armenia. On Thursday, the French parliament adopted a bill criminalizing denial of the so-called "Armenian Genocide". Some 45 out of 577 French MPs participated in the voting, 38 of which voted for, while 7 voted against the adoption of the bill. The bill envisages about one year imprisonment and a fine worth 45,000 euros for denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide". MPs from the French President's "Union for Popular Movement" (UMP) party which has the parliamentary majority, proposed a bill which aims at criminalizing denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide" to the legislative committee of the National Assembly in early December. Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that the predecessor of Turkey - Ottoman Empire had committed the 1915 genocide against the Armenians living in Anadolu, and achieved recognition of the "Armenian Genocide" by the parliaments of some countries. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az