Turkish Speaker calls on parliaments "not to undermine Turkish-Armenian dialogue"

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Turkish Parliament urged the parliaments of other countries not to disrupt the process of rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia with efforts to recognize the Armenian Genocide.



"Politicians and parliaments cannot judge about history," said Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan.



"We have always warned the parliaments [of other countries] that such moves will not help Turkey-Armenia talks. All responsible parliaments should now avoid hindering the ongoing process," he said. "There are 70,000 Armenian people working in Turkey and many Turkish products are sold in Armenia. If we continue in this direction, there will be no issues left for the Armenian diaspora to abuse."



"It's gratifying that other parliaments share our view and we welcome the decision of the French parliament to discuss these incidents," Toptan said.



The lower house of the French parliament adopted a bill criminalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide in October 2006. However, the bill was blocked by the Senate this year.