Turkish president urges France to stop brokering Karabakh talks
France has to stop its mediation as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict following the adoption in the lower house of its parliament of a bill criminalizing denial of the so-called World War I-era "genocide" of Armenians, as the country has lost its impartiality, Turkish President Abdullah Gul was quoted by TRT Haber TV channel as saying.
Gul said the adoption of such a bill harms stability in the Caucasus region, in particular, it complicates the already tense situation between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Despite strong protests by Turkey, the National Assembly on Thursday passed a bill which envisions a jail sentence of up to one year and a 45,000 euro fine for those denying that genocide" of Armenians occurred.
The bill will be debated next year in the Senate, the parliament’s upper chamber. If endorsed, it will be submitted to the French president for signing.
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