Prominent Russian screenwriter Rustam Ibragimbekov has returned an award from France in protest over the recent Senate vote to criminalize denial of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, according to RT news.

“It’s hard not to agree with those who consider this law as the manifestation of nationalist phobia creating a dangerous precedent in international relations,” Ibragimbekov said.

Ibragimbekov is the co-author of Nikita Mikhalkov’s Oscar-winning war saga Burnt by the Sun. He received France’s coveted Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2000.

But now, after the French Senate passed the law this week says, “All those loving France were perplexed”.

The 72-year-old screenwriter notes, “The anti-Turkish appeal of the new law is obvious,”, and has also decided to resign as President of the Azeri-French Culture Society.