Turkish delegation ends its persuasion tour in France

A Parliamentary delegation chaired by Volkan Bozkir, head of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission, ended its tour in France and returned to Turkey yesterday, after lobbying with full force to counter a French bill that aims to penalize denial of alleged Armenian genocide in France. Bozkir expressed Turkey's frustration with the bill, saying that they are hoping that the Senate will stop the bill with a vote on Thursday. "Once the relations deteriorate, it will be more difficult to restore them. Such bills on the issue were brought to French Parliament in 2001 and 2006 as well. But the situation in Turkey is currently more different than it was in those years thanks to its stronger economy." As part of these efforts in Paris, Turkish delegation also met with French Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's political advisor Jean Levitte and Parliament Speaker Bernard Accoyer and conveyed Turkey's message that adoption of the bill would damage bilateral relations between Turkey and France.