Chirac Did Not Promise Erdogan to Intervene in Armenian Genocide Bill Adoption

PanARMENIAN.Net - French opposition Socialist Party's lawmakers, who proposed the controversial 'genocide' bill adopted last week by Parliament, criticized French President Jacques Chirac for telling Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan he was sorry that French lawmakers approved the bill - making it a crime to deny that Armenians were subjected to a Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. "It is disappointing that he [Chirac] apologized over parliamentary work," said Didier Migaud, deputy from the Socialist Party. Erdogan said over the weekend that Chirac called him and said he was sorry and also promised to "do everything he could in the following process," referring to the readings through which the bill must pass before becoming legislation. Chirac, during a visit to the Armenian capital of Yerevan last month, said Turkey must recognize the alleged Armenian genocide, before it can join the European Union. An official from the French Foreign Ministry, referring to a telephone conversation between Chirac and Erdogan, reportedly said Jacques Chirac did not make a pledge that he would intervene or ensure that the bill was annulled, Turkish Daily News reports.