Having lost the “moral right” to co-chair the OSCE Minsk Group, France is still legally entitled to co-chairmanship, Azeri parliament speaker said.
As at parliamentary session, Ogtay Asadov urged to study juridical methods to achieve France’s withdrawal from the Minsk Group. “Baku will take best efforts to protect Azeri and Turkish interests,” the speaker said.
“The new PACE President signed the petition to French constitutional court to cancel the Senate-adopted bill penalizing Armenian Genocide denial,” Asadov said, advising patience.
“Azerbaijan is sincere in its intention to protect the interests of Turkey after the passage of Genocide bill. We’re not here to show off, but to offer genuine support,” 1news.az quoted Asadov as saying.
On January 23 the French Senate passed a bill penalizing Armenian Genocide denial. If signed into a law, it will 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.
Recently, French Senators collected 70 signatures instead of 60 required to appeal to constitutional council to dismiss the bill, which sparked an angry reaction in Turkey.
