Azerbaijan`s Foreign Ministry decries French National Assembly`s genocide denial bill

Baku, December 23 (AzerTAc). Azerbaijan`s Foreign Affairs Ministry made a statement, strongly condemning the French National Assembly`s approval of the bill penalizing genocide denial, the ministry`s press-service said. Azerbaijan expressed its surprise as this step contradicts freedom of speech and expression as basic principles of democracy in Europe, and runs counter to France`s obligations towards respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. Azerbaijan expresses its deep regret that the French National Assembly enacted this bill but turned a blind eye to the fact that hundreds of thousand of Azerbaijanis were subjected to ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories, became internally displaced people in their lands and their rights were grossly violated".