France's Armenian Genocide day draws ire of TurkeyApril 12, 2019 - 10:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Turkish protest of a French decision to declare April 24 a day commemorating the Armenian Genocide of 1915 has spread to bilateral military ties, Yeni Şafak reports. Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Thursday, April 11 spoke on the phone with his French counterpart, Florence Parly, to voice his displeasure at the decision, said the National Defense Ministry. On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron signed an order declaring April 24 a day to commemorate the Armenian Genocide. Separately, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian also spoke on the phone, said Turkey's Foreign Ministry. No details of the conversation were released. Earlier on Thursday, Cavusoglu dismissed the declaration as "invalid," adding that "France should look to its own misdeeds in colonial Algeria instead of criticizing others." Armenians commemorate the mass killings on April 24 because on that date in 1915 a group of Armenian intellectuals was rounded up and assassinated in Constantinople by the Ottoman government. On April 24, Armenians worldwide will be commemorating the 104th anniversary of the Genocide which continued until 1923. Some three dozen countries, hundreds of local government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million Armenians as Genocide. Turkey denies to this day. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |