Hollande expected to announce new Genocide bill during Armenia visitMarch 14, 2014 - 13:14 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Preparations for French President Francois Hollande’s visit to Armenia in May were discussed during a meeting between Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius. At the March 13 meeting in Paris, the parties welcomed high level of bilateral ties, also focusing on economic cooperation prospects. As Nalbandian further noted, around 160 French-financed companies currently operate in Armenia. In this context, he welcomed growth of French investments in the country. The Armenia-EU cooperation in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict was discussed, with Nalbandian giving high assessment to mediatory efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs (France, Russia and the U.S.) The Foreign Minister reiterated Armenia's readiness to continue peaceful settlement efforts jointly with the Co-chairs, Foreign Ministry pres service said. As was reported earlier, initiation of the Genocide denial criminalization bill will be officially announced during Hollande's visit. On January 23, 2012 the French Senate passed the bill making it a crime to deny the Armenian Genocide. The bill envisaged a 45,000 euro fine and a year in prison for anyone in France who denies this crime against humanity committed by the Ottoman Empire. However, the French Constitutional Council ruled the bill as anti-constitutional. In a statement the Council said the document represented an “unconstitutional breach of the practice of freedom of expression and communication Later, President Hollande pledged to redraft the law criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial in France, stressing the need to ensure the legal framework to avoid censorship by the Constitutional Council. The Armenian Genocide The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million. Top stories The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. London’s Armenian community has been left feeling “under attack” after the city’s Genocide monument was vandalised. Partner news | Director General of Ucom takes part in recruiting conference Ralph Yirikian participated in the Recruit Days business and networking conference organized by Move2Career. Ameriabank named Best Bank in Armenia for 2024 by Global Finance Ameriabank has been named the Best Bank in Armenia by Global Finance magazine in its 31st annual awards. Armenia to participate in key EU meeting for the first time ever National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan has said that Armenia will for the first time participate in the Conference. Russia clarifying reports on Baku’s alleged arms supply to Ukraine Russia says is carefully working to verify reports about alleged arms supplies from Azerbaijan to Ukraine |