President Nicolas Sarkozy’s statement urging Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide may be linked to France’s position on Ankara’s EU bid, according to ex-foreign minister of Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

As Arman Melikyan told a news conference in Yerevan, “Sarkozy gave Turkey until yearend to recognize the Genocide. As the French President said, in case of non-recognition, Genocide denial will be penalized, with France taking steps to prevent Ankara’s EU accession.

“However, presidential statement may have another explanation: with Sarkozy trying to secure more Armenian community votes on the threshold of election, combining that purpose with foiling Ankara’s EU bid, in an attempt to manipulate the issue seeking concessions from Turkey,” the ex-FM said.

“It’s not the first time Armenian issue was used to blackmail Turkey,” he said.

A member of ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Lernik Aleksanyan, however, believes the statement to have been an attempt to demonstrate Europe’s position on Ankara.