Turkey again back to its old ways, stating that “historians should deal with history”April 7, 2011 - 13:35 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish State Minister and chief EU negotiator Egemen Bagis urged during a meeting with French Senators to refrain from adopting the bill on criminalization of the Armenian Genocide denial. “The bill adoption by the Senate is fraught with sharp worsening of the French-Turkish relations. Lawmakers should not deal with the work of historian and assess the past, they should deal with building future,” said Bagis. According to him, it would have been better if French lawmakers paid greater attention to the Karabakh conflict settlement. “I was told during a meeting with President Sarkozy’s advisor that the French leader is against the bill ratification by the Senate,” Cumhuriyet quoted Bagis as saying. On May 4, the Socialist Party of France will put the bill on criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial on Senate agenda. The bill envisages up to five years of imprisonment or fine at the amount of 45,000 euros for the Armenian Genocide denial. 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 | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |