Armenia Marks 1915 Killings as Germany Defies Turkey on Genocide
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan declared that “nothing is forgotten” at a ceremony to mark the centenary of the slaughter of as many as 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, while Germany defied Turkey’s objections to join other states for the first time in describing the killings as genocide.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Francois Hollande were the most prominent world leaders to attend Friday’s commemoration at the genocide memorial in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. Turkish European Union Affairs Minister, Volkan Bozkir, became the first government representative to attend a mass at the Armenian church in Istanbul for the victims of the 1915 killings. Turkey denies there was a genocide, while acknowledging atrocities occurred.
“Even 100 years later, we remember and demand,” Sargsyan said in a speech challenging Turkish denials after he and representatives of 60 countries placed yellow roses in the center of a large forget-me-not wreath to mark the centenary. Russia mourns “one of the most terrible tragedies in the history of mankind” together with Armenians, Putin told the gathering.
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