Erdogan urges France to leave Minsk group

In an interview on the Azeri national TV network ANS, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that France has clearly shown that it has taken side after adopting a law penalizing denial of Armenian allegations on Ottoman era incidents of 1915, and thus it has to step down from the Minsk Group. Stating that French President Nicolas Sarkozy has never been honest in his relations with Armenians, Erdogan urged France to leave the Minsk Group, because it has shown that it has taken side in the Upper Karabakh dispute, which is an indication that his attitudes, views and domination there are all untrustworthy. In the interview which was broadcast on ANS TV on Sunday, Erdogan replied the question of whether the approval of a French bill penalizing denial of Armenian allegations on Ottoman era incidents of 1915 was a result of elections campaigns carried out by Sarkozy or the strength of Armenian diaspora. Erdogan reiterated that Sarkozy has recently visited Armenia, where he made statements against Turkey. Erdogan added that during the visit, things to be done at the French Parliament and Senate have become evident and that such policies followed by Sarkozy were a part of his election campaigns. Speaking on the Syria issue, Erdogan called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to quit after killings of 7,000 people and urged Iran and Russia not to support Syria in the face of such massacres.