GELIBOLU - Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President Rene van der Linden, who is visiting Gelibolu town of northwestern city of Canakkale, said that even France reacted to the decision of French national assembly regarding so-called Armenian genocide.
Replying to a question on effect of the bill criminalizing denial of so-called Armenian genocide that was approved in the French national assembly to Turkey's EU accession process, Linden indicated, "Turkey is a part of Europe, but this process can take a long time. The decision made by the French national assembly will not make a negative impact on Turkey's EU accession process, because even France reacted to this decision. It was not approved in many European countries, either."
Stating that PACE had a positive stance regarding Turkey, Linden underlined that Turkey has been playing a significant role in works and efforts of the EU for a long time.