YEREVAN. – The Armenian Question has again become a card in the hands of foreign players, with all the consequences, opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan said at the rally in Yerevan downtown on Thursday.

“French Senate approved the bill criminalizing denial of the Armenian Genocide on Jan 23. While the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and FM Edward Nalbandian sent messages of deep gratitude to the French administration, calling the event a bright victory of the Armenian diplomacy. The role of the Armenian diplomacy in this case is unclear for me. However, it is clear that the French Parliament took the step independently in order to attract French-Armenian voters prior to the presidential elections, as well as to hamper Turkey’s advancement to the EU.

Hence, the Armenian Question again became a card for the foreign players, with all the consequences. On Tuesday it was clarified that Armenians’ happiness was temporary, as French Constitutional Council recognized the bill anti-constitutional. Thus, instead of celebrating ‘the victory’, it is necessary to assess ‘historical’ decision of the Senate first of all from the point of benefit or harm to the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations. The latter is essentially important and should not be denied,” the statement reads.