Turkey to join OSCE MG if France remains member – Davutoglu.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Dabvutoglu has called for withdrawing France from the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries, otherwise saying that his country would seek membership in the mission that mediates the peace talks over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Azerbaijani news website 1news.az has quoted the Turkish top diplomat as saying that France ceased to be an unbiased party in the negotiation process after its Senate passed the bill criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial.

Davutoglu said his country is going to apply to the Organization for membership.

''It is necessary to consider stripping France off its status in the OSCE Minsk Group,'' Davutoglu said, according to the website. 

''Having visited the South Caucasus region in 2011, Sarkozy stayed in Armenia for two days but spent only a few hours in Azerbaijan. That hints bias,'' he added.

The Turkish FM said his country must also join the OSCE member in case France remains a member.

After the lower house of the French parliament, the National Assembly, passed the bill outlawing the Genocide denial, different Azerbaijani and Turkish officials urged for measures to ban the country’s membership in the Minsk Group.