ANKARA
Turkey's minister for affairs with the European Union (EU) has said there might be political motives behind the French president's latest remarks supporting a new draft bill criminalizing the denial of Armenian allegations on the incidents of 1915.
"As the rate of the votes Mr. Hollande received in elections is close to the number of votes he could not collect, he may be seeking to expand his political ground," said EU Minister & Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, prior to his meeting with Ross Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey and a high-level official from the Washington-based think-tank Atlantic Council.
"To every action, there is a certain reaction. Turkey's stance against similar approaches in the past is clear," the minister said.
Bagis also noted that Turkey would now monitor the steps to be taken by France.
Commenting on Germany's rejecting the entry of a group of Turkish tourists holding the Schengen visa, Bagis said tourists who had not acted in accordance with Schengen regulations had faced such an action.
"We are currently holding the necessary talks. We can never remain silent against any country's move to reject the entry of a Turkish citizen, however, it is also important that our citizens are well informed about Schengen regulations and they act accordingly," he said.
"When Turkish tourists are granted with the Schengen visa, their first destination should be the country that has issued the visa," Bagis said, noting that Germany might have displayed a certain sensitivity due to visas obtained from other EU member states.
