German envoy talks Armenian Genocide recognition, Karabakh

September 7, 2017 - 17:19 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Germany took an important step by recognizing the Armenian Genocide, the West European country's ambassador to Armenia Matthias Kiesler said on Thursday, September 7.

At a meeting with Armenian parliament speaker Ara Babloyan in Yerevan, the ambassador said he can feel the Armenian people's attitude to Germany's decision to acknowledge and condemn the killings of 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

Some three dozen states, hundreds of regional government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the Genocide. Turkey denies to this day.

Also, the envoy weighed in on the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh , adding that Germany rules out any military settlement option.

The ambassador, in addition, briefed Babloyan on his own observations concerning reforms carried out in Armenia in the past several years, hailing the country's progress compared to other post-Soviet states.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.