Ankara's statements that Vatican renounces Pope's April address on the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire have nothing to do with the reality, Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tigran Balayan tweeted.
To note, Turkish ambassador to the Vatican, Mehmet Pacaci, returned to his post at the Holy See on Feb 4, after a ten-month absence following the historic Mass held by Pope Francis in honor of the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide in April 2015, Asbarez reports. Turkey summoned the Vatican's ambassador in Ankara after Pope Francis remembered the Armenian Genocide, spoke about the consequences of forgetting and denial, and proclaimed the Armenian Saint Gregory of Narek a Doctor of the Church, during the April 2015 Mass.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Tanju Bilgic said the decision for the ambassador's return to the Vatican came after the Holy See described the Armenian Genocide as "tragic events" in a statement on Wednesday.
"The repeated commitment of Turkey to make its archives available to historians and researchers of interested parties in order to arrive jointly at a better understanding of historical events and the pain and suffering endured by all parties, regardless of their religious or ethnic identity, caught up in war and conflict, including the tragic events of 1915, is noted and appreciated," read the Feb 3 statement issued by the press office of the Holy See.