Merkel Calls Ottoman-Era Killings Of Armenians ‘Heinous Crimes’
YEREVAN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has described Ottoman-Era mass killings of Armenians as “heinous crimes against Armenians,” which “cannot and must not be forgotten.”
Merkel, who arrived in Armenia from neighboring Georgia on the second leg of her three-country visit to the South Caucasus, made the statement following a visit to a memorial dedicated to the victims of what Armenia describes as genocide.
After being greeted at Yerevan’s airport by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Merkel traveled to the Tsitsernakaberd hilltop complex to lay a wreath at the monument dedicated to the World War I-era dead.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million people were killed during World War I as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, a claim supported by many other countries.
Full story: rferl.org
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service
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