ANKARA. - Official circles in Turkey already responded to Yerevan statement of French President Nicolas Sarkozy that if Turkey does not face its past and does not make steps towards recognition of Armenian Genocide, France will go as far as criminalizing denial of the Genocide.

Turkish State Minister and chief negotiator for European integration Egemen Bakish touched upon this topic during a press conference in the framework of his two-day official visit to Sarajevo.

"Yesterday I met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France and told him that the duty of politicians is not definition of the past and events of the past. Our task is to determine the future. Had Mr. Sarkozy put at least some effort and sought ways of solving his country's existing economic problems instead of taking on the role of a historian, had he designed projects on the future of EU, he would have been more substantial for both France and Europe. Meanwhile his current actions are merely preconditioned with upcoming elections," Bakish said.

According to observations of Turks, Sarkozy's visit to Armenia is a retaliatory move against his main opponent Francois Oland, after the latter publicly promised to promote a bill criminalizing denial of Armenian genocide.