ANKARA. – Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek announced that all the members of the friendship group with France has left the group after the French National Assembly adopted the bill on criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide.

He stated that the existence of the friendship group is meaningless after France’s position on the issue, Turkish Zaman reports. Çiçek believes, however, that the bill will be rejected in Senate and the process will stop.

France’s National Assembly passed on Thursday the bill criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial. The law supposes a year in jail or 45,000 euro punishment for those who will challenge or extremely minimize the fact of the 1915 Armenian Genocide officially recognized by France on January 29, 2001.