France's Constitutional Council repealed Tuesday a law criminalizing the denial of the Ottoman Empire's genocide of Armenians in 1915.

The declaration of the law's unconstitutionality was welcomed by Turkey, which insists that the 1915 killings of some 1.5 million Armenians was not the result of a systematic campaign against them.

Meanwhile, President Nicolas Sarkozy came up with a statement calling for a new version of the law.

"The president believes that genocide denial is intolerable and must be punished in this regard," the press release of Sarkozy's office said, as cited by CNN.

Tuesday's ruling of France's highest judicial body notes that the law, which would have imposed a penalty of one year of imprisonment and/or a fine of up to EUR 45 000 for the denial of the "Armenian genocide", runs against the principle of freedom of expression stipulated in the constitution.

Relations between France and Turkey have been strained since December, when the law was passed by the lower house of the French parliament.

Infuriated by the step, Turkey recalled its Ambassador from France.

On January 23, France's Senate approved the controversial legislation in a 127-86 vote.

Denying the Holocaust in France is already a crime punishable by a year in prison and a fine of EUR 45 000.

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