In Sofia, FM Gul discusses Armenian genocide matter with French FM
Güncelleme Tarihi:
At an unofficial meeting of NATO ministers last week in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul touched on the Armenian genocide matter in comments to French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy.
Referring to the drafts of 5 different bills in the French Parliament which propose jail sentences for people denying the Armenian genocide, Gul said to Blazy: "You are planning on giving prison sentences to those who deny the Armenian genocide. But let's say that either I or the President of Turkey make an official visit to France, and that at a press conference there, upon questioning from reporters, we say 'The accusations of genocide are lies. They have no ties to reality.' What would you do, throw us in prison? Would this suit France, a country which is one of the champions of freedom of expression and thought in Europe? So you are essentially giving one side the right to do whatever they want, while you deny the other side the right to express its feelings about lies that are being told about it. This perspective runs contrary to European values."
Canadian firms not invited to bidding for Sinop reactor
With regards to other countries' recent stances on the Armenian genocide, the Canadian government went ahead on April 24 to make announcements accusing Turkey of genocide against the Armenians. Following on this, a decision was made in Ankara not to invite Canadian companies to take part in bidding for contracts in the building of the nuclear power plant planned for the Black Sea city of Sinop. French companies are widely considered to be in front running for contracts connected to the planned Sinop nuclear power plant.