The law envisaging the criminal penalty for the denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide" is directed against Turkey. It demonstrates hostility towards it, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted by TRT Haber TV channel as saying. Turkey will not remain silent in the face of Islamophobia. It urges Europe to take actions against this, Erdogan said. French Senators who do not agree with the adoption of the law envisaging the criminal punishment for the denial of "Armenian genocide" on Jan. 31 collected the required number of signatures demanding the cancellation of the law.

Russia on Tuesday warned foreign countries against meddling in the internal affairs of Syria, saying that "the Syrian crisis can only be resolved with the Syrian-led political process", Xinhua reported. The statement came as Vitaly Churkin, the Russian permanent representative to the United Nations, was addressing an open meeting of the UN Security Council on the current situation of Syria.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Konstantin Grishenko will visit Uzbekistan on Feb.5-6, Uzbek media outlets report with reference to Ukrainian sources. During the negotiations with the Uzbek leadership Grishenko plans to discuss energy cooperation, as Uzbekistan has great volumes of energy resources. According to the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, trade turnover between Uzbekistan and Ukraine amounted to $552.6 million in 2010, which enabled Ukraine to rank third among the CIS countries in terms of trade turnover. According to preliminary data, in 2011 the trade turnover between Ukraine and Uzbekistan amounted to about $900 million.

President of Turkey Abdullah Gul hopes that the French court will make a right decision, TRT Haber TV Channel reported on Tuesday. On Tuesday, Jan.31, the French Senators collected required number of signatures demanding repeal of the law criminalizing the denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide". President Gul said it is impossible to believe that the French people will put their country in an awkward position. The Senators collected 70 signatures instead of fixed 60 and, thus, today they will appeal to the Constitutional Council.

U.S President Barack Obama said that the U.S unequivocally supports Georgia's accession to NATO, a member of the Georgian delegation, State Minister for Reintegration Eka Tkeshelashvili told media after the meeting between the Georgian and the U.S Presidents in Washington. She said that both parties discussed the prospects of intensifying cooperation between the U.S. and Georgia, including security.

A Supreme Court of France will make a decision on a law criminalizing denial of the so-called "Armenian genocide" in a week, member of the Senate Commission for International Affairs Nathalie Goulet told Trend on Tuesday. "We have a lot of arguments for demanding repeal of this law," she said. According to Goulet, 70 signatures were collected by senators and now they have to wait for the Supreme Court's decision.

The Youth Atlantic Treaty Association (YATA) will hold a workshop on the topic "Georgia's role in state-building in Afghanistan" at 12 am in Europe House in Tbilisi on Tuesday. The workshop will be held by guest of honor, NATO Liaison Officer in the Caucasus region William Lahue. The meeting participants will discuss the situation in Afghanistan, plans of participants of counter-terrorist forces, as well as Georgia's involvement in peacekeeping operations.

When Georgia was striving towards democracy, the pressure from Russia was felt, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said at the Summit Basecamp in California (U.S) where he was invited as a special guest. "The assassination attempt on my life was planned," the president said. He also drew attention to the existing situation in Georgia, its reforms and relations with Russia.

The first meeting of the Cooperation Platform "EU Mobility Partnership" organized by the Office of the State Minister for Georgia's integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures will be held at the Tbilisi Hotel "Courtyard Marriott" on Monday. The meeting will be attended by representatives of EU member states participating in this initiative, international organizations, EU Delegation to Georgia and relevant government agencies of Georgia.

Azerbaijan is a valuable partner of NATO, and these relations are developing within the "Partnership for Peace (PfP)" Programme, Romanian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Daniel Cristian Ciobanu said at the opening of NATO School in Azerbaijan on Monday. "NATO appreciates Azerbaijan's peacekeeping efforts, including in Afghanistan," Ciobanu said. He said about 30 events aimed at developing relations of the Alliance with Azerbaijan are planned in 2012 as part of NATO - Azerbaijan cooperation.