On Sunday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu criticized remarks made by Pope Francis, who said during a Mass attended by the Armenian president that the killing of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians under Ottoman rule 100 years ago was "the first genocide of the 20th century."
Armenia says that up to 1.5 million people were killed in 1915 by Ottoman forces, the BBC reports, while Turkey disputes the number and says the deaths were part of the civil conflict that started World War I. Cavusoglu tweeted: "The Pope's statement, which is far from the legal and historical reality, cannot be accepted. Religious authorities are not the places to incite resentment and hatred with baseless allegations."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
