French President Nicolas Sarkozy should first come to terms with own history, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said, in response to Sarkozy’s message addressed to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Earlier, Sarkozy issued a message to Erdogan regarding the forthcoming debate of the bill criminalizing genocide denial by the French Senate, according to Hurriyet.

Sarkozy noted that the draft law pursues no personal interests.

“France hopes that debate of the bill will have no impact on Ankara-Paris ties. It is not easy to come to terms with history, but France managed to overcome the barrier and admit its mistakes,” the message read.