FRENCH DEFENSE MINISTER LEFT OFF GONUL’S DEFENSE FAIR GUEST LIST

Anatolian Times, Turkey
Nov 20 2006

Following Land Forces Commander Gen. Ilker Basbug’s announcement
on Wednesday that military ties with France had been suspended,
the government also took a negative stance towards France. Defense
Minister Vecdi Gonul said yesterday that he had not invited his French
counterpart Michele Alliot Maire to the Eighth International Defense
Fair (IDEF 2007) set for next May in Ankara. During a promotional
meeting, Gonul said that France had a respected defense minister, but
due to the recent developments, he had not been officially invited to
the fair in question. Meanwhile, commenting on Basbug’s announcement,
French Defense Ministry spokesman Jean-Francois Bureau stated that
the statement had been made by a military commander but not by the
Turkish government, adding that no practical or concrete effect of
the declaration had been seen so far.

In addition, regarding Basbug’s statement, world media outlets
interpreted the move as "Turkey’s revenge" following the French
Parliament’s passage of a bill criminalizing denial of the alleged
Armenian genocide.