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French Senate endorses bill on genocide of Armenians

The Turkish government warned it might downgrade the official level of relations with France

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

PARIS, January 23 (Itar-Tass) – French Senate, the upper house of parliament, has endorsed a bill on the genocide of Armenians.

The majority of senators spoke in favor of introducing criminal punishment for a denial of the genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire from 1915 through 1917.

In December 2011, the bill envisioning a jail term of up to twelve months or a penalty of up to 45,000 euros received endorsement of the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.

The fact that the French parliament officially adopted this angle of view at the problem of purges against Armenians in the last years of the Ottoman Empire produced a highly painful official reaction from Turkey.

The Turkish government warned it might downgrade the official level of relations with France if the bill got final endorsement and was signed into law.

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