Baba Bey
2006-11-16 21:29:42 UTC
http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-11-16-voa31.cfm
"
France Responds to Turkey Pulling Military Ties
By Lisa Bryant, Paris, 16 November 2006
France offered a low-key reaction to Turkey's announcement it is
suspending military ties over a recent Armenian genocide vote in the
French parliament.
At the heart of the dispute is the recent approval by French deputies of
legislation making it a crime to deny an Armenian genocide took place in
Turkey a century ago. The bill needs to be passed by the French Senate
and approved by French President Jacques Chirac before becoming law.
But the matter has sparked anger from Turkey, which denies an
Armenian genocide took place.
Wednesday, a Turkish general announced Ankara had suspended
military ties with France. But a French foreign ministry spokesman says
France has received no official word from Turkey.
French defense officials say they doubt Turkey's move will fundamentally
hurt diplomatic relations.
But analyst Jean-Francois Daguzin, of the Foundation for Strategic
Research in Paris, believes the impact may be more severe than has
been suggested.
Daguzin says Turkey's reaction to the French legislation is among the
strongest to date. He says Ankara traditionally makes countries who fall
out of favor pay a steep political price and the suspended ties could affect
military cooperation.
Turkish and French troops are stationed and work together in
Afghanistan, Lebanon, Kosovo, Bosnia and the Democratic Republic of
Congo. In addition, French and European companies supply Ankara with
a significant amount of military equipment.
Recently Turkey's relations with the European Union have been rocky.
Ankara wants EU membership, but it has yet to fulfill a number of
European conditions for accession talks, including opening trade with EU
member Cyprus.
"
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"
France Responds to Turkey Pulling Military Ties
By Lisa Bryant, Paris, 16 November 2006
France offered a low-key reaction to Turkey's announcement it is
suspending military ties over a recent Armenian genocide vote in the
French parliament.
At the heart of the dispute is the recent approval by French deputies of
legislation making it a crime to deny an Armenian genocide took place in
Turkey a century ago. The bill needs to be passed by the French Senate
and approved by French President Jacques Chirac before becoming law.
But the matter has sparked anger from Turkey, which denies an
Armenian genocide took place.
Wednesday, a Turkish general announced Ankara had suspended
military ties with France. But a French foreign ministry spokesman says
France has received no official word from Turkey.
French defense officials say they doubt Turkey's move will fundamentally
hurt diplomatic relations.
But analyst Jean-Francois Daguzin, of the Foundation for Strategic
Research in Paris, believes the impact may be more severe than has
been suggested.
Daguzin says Turkey's reaction to the French legislation is among the
strongest to date. He says Ankara traditionally makes countries who fall
out of favor pay a steep political price and the suspended ties could affect
military cooperation.
Turkish and French troops are stationed and work together in
Afghanistan, Lebanon, Kosovo, Bosnia and the Democratic Republic of
Congo. In addition, French and European companies supply Ankara with
a significant amount of military equipment.
Recently Turkey's relations with the European Union have been rocky.
Ankara wants EU membership, but it has yet to fulfill a number of
European conditions for accession talks, including opening trade with EU
member Cyprus.
"
(------ Copyright Statement ( http://www.voanews.com/english/disclaim.cfm )
"1.You are welcome to use any material that is published by voanews.com,
or you may link to any of the web pages that Voice of America has
published on the internet. There is no need to request further permission.
Should you wish to establish a link to any VOA web pages, please send
your request to ***@ibb.gov. Credit for any use of VOA material
should be given to voanews.com, Voice of America, or VOA, and we ask
that you not abridge or edit any VOA material which you may use. ...")