On Turkey’s Kanal D channel Turkish journalist Mehmet Ali Birand commented on French Constitutional Council’s decision on the bill penalizing the Armenian Genocide denial, noting that the latter prevented final deterioration of French –Turkish relations.

“The Constitutional Council proved the vital importance of freedom of speech. However, the issue can’t be considered resolved yet,” Birand said.

The French Constitutional Council on Feb 28 ruled the bill criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial adopted earlier by the Senate of France as unconstitutional. The Council justified it by the fact that the law “contradicts Article 33 of the Constitution of France and the freedom of speech”.

On January 23, the French Senate passed the bill with 127 votes for and 86 against. If signed into law by the President, 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.

Turkey reacted furiously when the Senate approved the law. Ankara halted political and military cooperation with France and was threatening to cut off economic and cultural ties if the law took effect.