The French parliament is considering criminalizing the denial of the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I as genocide, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
But Turkish President Abdullah Gul is urging France to drop the bill that would slap citizens who deny the killings as genocide with a one-year prison term and a heavy fine, according to BBC News.
Turkey is warning French parliament that the legislation would gravely impact ties between the countries.
Between 1915 and 1923, 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey disputes the genocide label, saying the deaths were caused by civil war and other factors
