Turkey, France Seek To 'Mend' Ties After

In a bid to repair relations between the two countries French MPs on Wednesday visited the Turkish parliament.



Turkish-French relations have been strained since the French Parliament adopted a resolution in 2011 that criminalizes rejection of Armenian allegations pertaining to the incidents of 1915.



During the First World War, the Ottoman Empire approved a deportation law for Armenians amid their uprising with the help of invading Russian army. As a result, an unknown number of people died in the civil strife. The Armenian diaspora and the state of Armenia term the incidents as "genocide" and ask for compensation, whereas Turkey says that while Armenians died during the deportation, many Turks also died due to the attacks by Armenian gangs all across Anatolia. 



Christophe Bouillon, chair of the French-Turkish Parliamentary Friendship Group, said, after a meeting with deputy speaker of Turkish parliament, "some people might try to bring the Armenian allegations to France's agenda, yet again. We will try to prevent it as the hundredth anniversary of the incident nears."



Bouillon added that they are agreeing on Turkey's proposition that the 1915 incidents should be dealt by historians, not politicians.



Deputy Speaker of the Turkish parliament Ayse Nur Bahcekapili said visits between the two countries increased after the election of French President Francois Hollande.



"I believe the relations will develop on political and economic ties, as it was before," Bahcekapili said.



englishnews@aa.com.tr - Ankara