French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called on Turkey to recognise the killings of over 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 by Ottoman Turks as Genocide.
Speaking during his visit to the Armenian capital Yerevan, President Sarkozy threatened Turkey that continued refusal to accept the killings as Genocide, may force France to outlaw such denials.
"Turkey, which is a great country, would honour itself by revisiting its history like other countries in the world have done” said Mr Sarkozy.
"[But] if Turkey does not do this, then doubtless we will have to go further," he added.
The Turkish government responded by accusing the French President of trying to gain votes from French-Armenians for upcoming elections.
"Unfortunately whenever there are elections in Europe, this type of opportunism arises," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.
Meanwhile, the French Interior Minister, Claude Gueant signed a pact with his Turkish counterpart Idris Naim Sahin agreeing joint security operations against the Kurdish separatist PKK.
“The agreement will also open a door to technical cooperation as well as operational cooperation between the two countries, which allow Turkey and France to take a stance against terrorism and other types of crime, “ Mr Gueant told reporters at a press conference in Ankara.
“The agreement covers cooperation on domestic security, fighting against terrorism, cross-border crime, illicit drug trafficking and financial crimes,” Mr Sahin added.
France has arrested 70 PKK operatives since 2010, with a trial of 18 senior members currently ongoing.
