Turkiye, Turkey
Dec 14 2004

FRENCH FM URGES TURKEY TO RECOGNIZE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier yesterday asked Ankara to
recognize so-called Armenian genocide in return for the European
Union beginning its accession talks. At a press conference, Barnier
said that there was no consensus yet on the statement on Turkey for
this week’s historic EU summit, adding that negotiations could begin
at earliest in the second half of 2005. Stressing that there was no
guarantee of a positive result and that steps should be patiently
taken one at a time, Barnier said talks might be suspended at any
point and that the French people would say the final word through a
referendum. He added that during the accession talks, France would
also urge Ankara to recognize the past Armenian tragedy. /Turkiye/