France's Constitutional Council has ruled that a law concerning the mass killings of Armenians a century ago violates the country's constitution. The law, passed in December, made it a crime to deny that the killings of some 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 constituted genocide. Punishment under the legislation was set at up to one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros.
ANKARA. – In an interview with Turkish journalists, US Ambassador to Turkey, Francis Ricciardone, spoke about the regional issues. And with respect to the French Senate’s passing of the bill that criminalizes the denial of genocides, including the Armenian Genocide, the American ambassador noted that France is an ancient and a very important friend of the United States. 
Namık Tan, Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. -- in a fairly unusual diplomatic move -- expressed his "disappointment" earlier today at Rick Perry's "ill-advised" suggestion that Turkey is run by Muslim terrorists, and the Turkish American council is piling on. Says Turkish-American Council President G. Lincoln McCurdy in a statement:
