The deputy head of Heritage party believes Turkey’s response to French National Assembly’s adoption of a bill penalizing Armenian Genocide denial exacerbated official Ankara’s situation.

As Ruben Hakobyan noted, “European states will take sides with the official Paris, threatened with Turkish sanctions, to demonstrate solidarity with France.”

The politician characterized the bill as a serious success on the way to promotion of Genocide acknowledgement and raising awareness of the issue.

On December 22, 2011, French National Assembly passed a bill criminalizing public denial of the Armenian Genocide. If passed and signed into law by the Senate, the bill would impose a 45,000 euro fine and a year in prison for anyone in France who denies this crime against humanity committed by the Ottoman Empire. Following the vote, Ankara recalled its ambassador from France.