Turkish energy minister has warned relations in energy sector with France could not endure fallout from approval of a bill that makes denial of the Ottoman era incidents of 1915 punishable in France.
"France is about to commit a political sin. Certain projects between the two countries might carry that sin but our newly developing relations in energy sector might not live out the blow," Taner Yildiz told reporters Wednesday, a day before the French parliament is set to debate the bill that penalizes denial of the 1915 incidents with a prison term of one year and a fine of 45 thousand euros.
Yildiz said some of the projects between Turkey and France "are so big that cannot be distanced from the state of international affairs. I hope those project remain intact."
Diplomatic sources close to the matter have said that the bill had the backing of Sarkozy who had recently expressed support during a visit to Yerevan last October ahead of the presidential elections next year.
Turkish Foreign Ministry has rejected the attempt as a pre-election campaign move.
A similar bill -- proposed by the Socialist Party -- was approved in 2006 by the lower house of the French assembly but the Senate rejected to debate the bill last May.
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