Official Ankara makes the first announcement over the assessment of the atrocities committed by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as genocide by Pope Francis. “Armenpress” reports, citing Turkish “Hurriyet”, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli called the Papal announcement “a great tragedy”, once again reiterating regular Turkish denialist slogans.

Pope Francis delivered a speech in a meeting with President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, authorities, and diplomatic corps on June 24 in Yerevan. In his speech he deviated from the in-advance prepared text of the speech provided to media representatives and used the word “Genocide”.

The Pope, particularly, mentioned in his speech, “Metz Yeghérn, the “Great Evil” that struck your people and caused the death of a vast multitude of persons. Sadly, that tragedy, that Genocide was the first of the deplorable series of catastrophes of the past century, made possible by twisted racial, ideological or religious aims that darkened the minds of the tormentors even to the point of planning the annihilation of entire peoples.