President of France Nicolas Sarkozy issued a message to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip 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 reads.

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.