Turkey makes historic warning to France about Armenian allegations

ANKARA (A.A) – December 16, 2011 - Turkey's prime minister sent on Friday a letter to French president in order to warn the country about Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915. In his historic letter of warning to Nicolas Sarkozy, Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said common sense should prevail political concerns in bilateral relations. Erdogan said Turkish-French relations should not be harmed by demands of third parties. "This is a sensitive and serious issue, and it is important for common sense to prevail over political concerns," Erdogan said. Erdogan's letter came after a French resolution criminalizing rejection of Armenian allegations pertaining to the incidents of 1915. The premier said such initiatives would have grave impact on multilateral relations between Turkey and France, and noted that Turkey had exchanged views on several issues with President Sarkozy. Erdogan said Turkey and France could not reach compromise on some issues but signed agreements on some common issues. Premier Erdogan quoted Sarkozy as saying during one of their former meetings that after the French Parliament adopted a resolution criminalizing denial of Armenian allegations, he did not bring it up to the Senate and to make things more grave. Erdogan said Turkey was disappointed with the new initiative, and was closely monitoring the developments. "This resolution directly targets at Turkish state, nation and community living in France, and is hostile," he said. Erdogan said resolution on denial of Armenian allegations not only violates freedom of thought and expression but also contradicts principles supported by France. "Adoption of such a resolution will seriously limit freedom of expression of people who have a different perspective on the Armenian issue. Moreover, such initiatives do not contribute to discussion of this historical conflict between Turkey and Armenia through dialogue, but instead it prevents efforts to reveal the realities," Erdogan said. Erdogan said Turkish diplomats and state officials were a target of Armenian terrorism in France in 1970s and 1980s, and this was still fresh in Turkish people's memories. "I sincerely hope that you will keep your promise that such resolutions will not be concluded, and prevent steps that are impossible to be compensated," Erdogan also said. A French parliamentary commission adopted a resolution on Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915 last week. The resolution will be voted at the general assembly on December 19.  The resolution envisages "one-year prison term and 45,000 Euro fine for those who deny genocide recognized by French laws." The French Parliament ratified a resolution saying that "France recognizes the Armenian genocide of 1915" on January 29, 2011.