Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivered an address on the occasion of the 107th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian Embassy in Greece reported.

According to the PM, 107 years have passed since the beginning of the Armenian Genocide, as well as the extermination of 1.5 million people.

“We pay tribute to the memory of the victims. Mentioning the dark pages of the past is a guide to preventing such crimes in the future. Our main concern is to ensure a peaceful future and mutual respect for all.

The pogroms of the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire during World War I are the first genocide of the early 20th century. The Armenian Genocide was committed by the Young Turkish government in various regions of the Ottoman Empire.

The first international reaction to these events was given in 1915. It was a joint statement by France, Russia and Great Britain, in which the violence against the Armenian people was called “a crime against humanity and civilization.”

The parties blamed the Turkish government for the crime. The fact that the Ottoman government committed the Armenian Genocide was substantiated, recognized and confirmed by eyewitness accounts, laws, decrees, decisions of many states and international organizations. It was recognized and condemned by thirty countries of the world,” the Greek PM said in a message.