His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church, has sent a letter of appreciation to French President Emmanuel Macron following the decision that France would make April 24 a national day of Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

As the press service of the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias reports, in his letter, Aram I has pointed to the special meaning of move. “We deeply believe that this decision comes as a vivid manifestation of your firm conviction in justice, irrefutable historical reality and the need for the recognition of the first genocide in the 20th century,” the letter reads in part.

His Holiness Aram I has concluded the letter with a reference to the strong ties between Armenian and French people as evidenced by the recent decision.

To remind, speaking to the Armenian community at a dinner in Paris on Tuesday, Macron said: "France is, first and foremost, the country that knows how to look history in the face, which was among the first to denounce the killing of the Armenian people, which in 1915 named genocide for what it was, which in 2001 after a long struggle recognised it in law."

France "will in the next weeks make April 24 a national day of commemoration of the Armenian genocide", he added.