Today’s Zaman reports that Ankara has officially warned France that “irreparable damage” could result if the French parliament passes legislation criminalizing the denial of the 1915 Genocide next week.

In a statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry last Frinday, Ankara said it regarded such attempts as “reoccurring events” each time elections are held in France.

“The French administration is well aware of the sensitivity of this issue [the Armenian genocide] for our country. We hope that no steps that could cause irreparable damage will be taken at a time when Turkey and France have entered a stable phase that could increase opportunities of cooperation at bilateral and international levels,” the statement reads.

The legislation could make denying the 1915 events that took place in Turkey as genocide punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 Euros.

Today’s Zaman also reports that last Sunday Turkish EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bağış reacted against Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s remarks that Turkey would be governed by a true European government that would bow in respect before the genocide monument in Yerevan, by saying that Sargsyan was “overstepping his boundaries” with such remarks.

“Nobody has the power to make Turkey bow down,” Bağış told reporters, as he accused the Armenian government of weakening the people of Armenia with hunger and poverty and forcing half of the country’s population to flee to other countries, including Turkey.