Turkey’s newly appointed envoy to to the European Union (EU) said Tuesday that genocide was committed against Armenians in Turkey during the First World War, reports.

Ali Haydar Konca, a parliamentarian with the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), was recently appointed as Minister of European Union Affairs by the Turkish interim cabinet. His comments contradict the long-held position of the Turkish government.

“The fact that genocide happened is explicit and clear and everybody accepts that. Right now, the issue is what it should be called. We will make a decision in our party about that,” Konca told the press.

This is the first time that a Turkish authority has admitted Turkey committed genocide against Armenians.