June 8, 2006 - 15:08 AMT
Greek Church Head Urges Turkey to Acknowledge Armenian Genocide
The Archbishop of Athens and Primate of the Church of Greece Christodoulos affirmed the need for Turkey to recognize the Genocide of Armenian and Greek Christians in Turkey during a press conference in the World Council of Churches on the last day of his official visit in Switzerland, reports the Representation of the Church of Greece to the EU. Invited to comment on the accession process of Turkey to the European Union and the issue of the Genocide of Armenian Christians in Turkey the Archbishop noted, «If modern Turks cannot be held responsible for the terrible acts of the past, it is for them a moral duty of honor to recognize the seriousness of these crimes». It should be noted that millions of Christians of Armenian and Greek heritage have been massacred in the last years of the Ottoman Empire. The recognition of these genocides is seen by many sides within the European Union as an indispensable condition of moral character for the eventual accession of Turkey in the European Union.