NTV MSNBC, Turkey
Dec 14 2004

French FM back off from Armenian statement

Turkey has always rejected claims that the Ottomans carried out a
policy of genocide against it Armenian citizens.

December 14 – France’s Foreign Minister has backed away from his
statement that Turkey had to acknowledge the so called Armenian
genocide as one of the conditions for it to join the European Union.

Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said Tuesday that it was not
France’s position that Ankara had to acknowledge the allegations of
committing genocide against the Ottoman empire’s Armenian community
during the years of World War One. His comments were in contrast to a
statement made Monday that Turkey had to accept responsibility for
the events of ninety years ago in order to start accession
negotiations with the EU.
`France does not pose it as a condition, notably not for
opening negotiations,’ Barnier said on French television. `Legally,
that would not be possible.’
Turkey has always strenuously denied that any deliberate
massacre of Armenians occurred, though does acknowledge that many
thousands of Armenian and Turkish Ottoman citizens died during the
turmoil of the war in the east of Turkey.