Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has described a letter sent by French President Sarkozy, designed to ease tensions between the two countries, as “ineffective”.

“No opinion, no letter will change our perspective regarding the matter,” Davutoglu told reporters on Friday, according to a report in Today’s Zaman.

Sarkozy had urged Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan urging not to take personally a bill that seeks to penalize denial of the “Armenian genocide.”

In his message, Sarkozy underscored that his country cares about its ties to Turkey.

“The aim of the law, which will first and foremost be applicable in France and to French citizens,” Sarkozy said, “is to protect the memories of members of our society who have been carrying along with them for a very long time the feeling of denial toward the realities their ancestors went through and to remedy their wounds that were inflicted a hundred years ago.”