Azernews.Az

President Nicolas Sarkozy warned Thursday that France would take adequate steps if Turkey does not recognize the alleged World War I-era mass killings of Armenians as genocide by the end of 2011, in a statement that drew a terse response from Ankara.

Sarkozy said during a visit to Yerevan that one of the steps Paris would take is passage of a law making it a crime to deny the alleged genocide, Armenian media reported.

Visiting a "genocide" memorial and museum in Yerevan, with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Sarkozy challenged Turkey – which is seeking membership of the European Union – to face up to its past.

"The Armenian genocide is a historical reality. Collective denial is even worse than individual denial," Sarkozy said.

"Turkey, which is a great country, would honour itself to revisit its history like other great countries in the world have done," Sarkozy said at the top of a two-day, three nation swing through the Caucasus.

Paying tribute to the memorial to the "genocide" victims, Sarkozy wrote "France does not forget" in the book of memory, the reports said.

Sarkozy’s comments, issued at the start of his first state visit to Armenia, whose diaspora represents a large voting minority in France, come months before a presidential election which he heads into with approval ratings at a low.

Turkey issued a strongly worded response to the French leader’s remarks. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu regarded the statement as "political hypocrisy", saying that such "lack of principles" is seen in Europe each time during pre-election campaigns.

Davutoglu said the statement was "very false" and does nothing to facilitate efforts to reconcile Turkey and Armenia.

"This is a step that will have a negative impact on the process that began between Turkey and Armenia and continues despite some delays."

Turkey's chief European Union negotiator Egemen Bagis also criticized the remarks by Sarkozy, saying that instead of assuming the role of a historian, he should deal with extricating his country from the economic crisis.

According to Bagis, it is highly likely that Sarkozy is utterly concerned over unfavorable public opinion polls ahead of next year’s presidential election in France.

"I said this during my meeting with the French interior minister yesterday. The work of politicians is not to determine the past or historical events. Our job is to determine the future. If Mr. Sarkozy, instead of assuming the role of a historian, uses his intelligence a little to find a way out of the economic crisis in his country and initiates projects for the sake of the EU’s future…this would be more comprehensible for Europe, for France and for tranquility in the world," Bagis said.

The Azerbaijani government also disagrees with the French president’s remarks on the Armenian "genocide", presidential aide Ali Hasanov said.

"We have consistently supported the interests of both Azerbaijan and Turkey on issues concerning the two countries’ interests – be it the developments taking place in South Caucasus or international events," Hasanov told reporters. "Certainly, we do not share the views of the French government, particularly Sarkozy, on the issues of Armenian ‘genocide’ and reopening of Тurkey-Armeniа border."

Armenians say that up to 1.5 million of their kin fell victim to genocide during the First World War under the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey counters that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian forces.