Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 23 /Trend A.Badalova, A. Tagiyeva/
France has to stop its mediation activity in the OSCE Minsk Group following the adoption of a bill criminalizing denial of the so-called "Armenian Genocide", TRT Haber TV Channel quotes Turkish President Abdullah Gul as saying.
The president said the adoption of such a bill harms the stability in the Caucasus, in particular it will further comlpicate the current situation between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
On Thursday, the French parliament adopted a bill criminalizing denial of the so-called "Armenian Genocide".
Some 45 out of 577 French MPs participated in the voting, 38 of which voted for, while 7 voted against the adoption of the bill.
The bill envisages about one year imprisonment and a fine worth 45,000 euros for denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide".
MPs from the French President's "Union for Popular Movement" (UMP) party which has the parliamentary majority, proposed a bill which aims at criminalizing denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide" to the legislative committee of the National Assembly in early December.
Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that the predecessor of Turkey - Ottoman Empire had committed the 1915 genocide against the Armenians living in Anadolu, and achieved recognition of the "Armenian Genocide" by the parliaments of some countries.