Updated on
Summary Turkey has recalled its envoy to France and suspends economic meetings and military cooperation.
Turkey recalled its French envoy and threatened reprisals on Thursday after France took the first step to criminalising the denial of genocide, including the 1915 mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, prompting Ankara to recall its ambassador for consultations.Tension has risen over the draft law put forward by members of President Nicolas Sarkozys ruling party, with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan warning there would be grave political and economic consequences if the bill passed.According to Turkish officials, Turkey’s ambassador in Paris had been recalled for consultations after lawmakers in Frances National Assembly -- the lower house of parliament -- voted overwhelmingly in favour of the bill.Envoy Tahsin Burcuoglu said the bill would not just damage Franco-Turkish relations, but also those between Turkey and Armenia.France passed a law recognising the killing of Armenians as genocide in 2001. The French lower house first passed a bill criminalising the denial of an Armenian genocide in 2006, but it was rejected by the Senate in May this year. The new bill will now be debated next year in the Senate.The latest draft law was made more general to outlaw the denial of any genocide, partly in the hope of appeasing the Turks, the Turkish envoy to Paris said Turkey would never accept this.Successive Turkish governments and the vast majority of Turks feel the charge of genocide is an insult to their nation. Ankara argues that there was heavy loss of life on both sides during fighting in the area.Faced with Sarkozys open hostility to Turkeys stagnant bid to join the European Union, and buoyed by a fast-growing economy, Ankara has little to lose by picking a political fight with Paris.
