Turkey “agrees to restore ties with France after Genocide bill row” June 21, 2012 - 18:13 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey has agreed to restore all ties with France, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Thursday, June 21 following a breakdown in relations last year prompted by a dispute over a bill criminalizing Armenian Genocide denial in France, Reuters reported. Ankara canceled all economic, political and military meetings with Paris in December after France's lower house of parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a draft law to make it illegal to deny the Genocide. France's highest court overturned the law two months later but the Turkish measures taken against France, which included restrictions on French military aircraft and ships landing or docking on its territory, have remained in place. Speaking live on Turkish television, Davutoglu said Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had ordered the sanctions be lifted after a positive meeting with France's new President Francois Hollande at a world summit in Brazil. "The prime minister gave the necessary instructions after meeting with Hollande. Because of this new attitude from France, these sanctions will be dropped," Davutoglu said during an interview with news broadcaster CNN Turk. Davutoglu said he would travel to Paris on July 5 for bilateral meetings where they would discuss taking additional "positive steps" in the future.   Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads.   Partner news |  Related sections Latest news The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity  The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization.Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia.Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty.Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |
