Pope
Francis with Catholicos Karekin II and Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan at
Tzitzernakaberd Memorial Complex in Yerevan, Armenia (AP)
Turkey says Pope Francis’s recognition of the
Ottoman-era killings of Armenians as genocide during his visit to Armenia won’t
help efforts to establish peace and stability in the Caucasus region.
A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said Monday
that the Pope had again “disappointed” the Turkish people with remarks and
accused him of “bias” and “religion-based discrimination” against Turkey.
Francis has said the 1915 slaughter by Ottoman
Turks of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians constituted planned “genocide”
during his three-day visit.
Turkey rejects the term genocide, saying the death
toll cited by historians is inflated and that people died on both sides of the
conflict. When Francis first used it last year, Turkey recalled its ambassador
for 10 months and accused the Pope of spreading lies.
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