Yesterday, during a working visit to Latvia, RA Foreign Minister made the following statement when asked by a reporter to comment on the recent passage of a bill by the French Senate to criminalize genocide denial.

The arguments presented by Turkey cannot stand up to any critique. They say that the adopted bill will hamper the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, but everyone knows that if anyone is hampering those relations today, it is Turkey. They also say that the bill edits history. Sadly, the black pages of a tragic history experienced by an entire people have already been written.

The bill approved by the French Senate does not refer to any specific country. Here, the adage “if the shoe fits...” is quite appropriate. The extreme reaction by Turkey against France, those countries who have recognized the Genocide and the Armenian diaspora, proves the denialist policy of Turkey on a state level. It’s a dangerous phenomenon. All this attests to the necessity and significance for the bill adopted by the Senate. It is a bill that must be supported by other nations in order that similar violations against humanity are not permitted in the future.