Chirac Apologized to Turkish Prime MinisterOctober 16, 2006 - 14:13 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - French President Jacques Chirac in a telephone conversation with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he felt sorry that the bill penalizing the Armenian Genocide denial was approved and added he would try his best to prevent it from becoming law. According to the French leader, the adoption in 2001 of the law recognizing the events of 1915-1917 as the Armenian Genocide was sufficient for establishing the historical truth. "The discussion on criminalization of the Armenian Genocide denial is rather rhetorical than juridical," Jacques Chirac said. At that he asserted that the Armenian Genocide recognition should be one of the conditions for EU accession. Meanwhile European Commission President José Manuel Barroso voiced anxiety over the slow process of reform in Turkey. He told BBC that Turkey will hardly become an EU member during earlier than in 15-20 years. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. 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". Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |