“Today we are all paying honor to the memory of guiltless victims. The Armenian Genocide was planned and carried out by the Ottoman Empire at a national level. A huge part of our people was cold-bloodedly destroyed. And today, for those who survived the Great Massacre, for their descendants, and the whole nation, the Genocide is not only the real past, but also an indispensable part of the present, and of their fate,” the document adds.

Efforts to gain international recognition of the Genocide have been declared one of the priorities of Armenia’s foreign policy.

At the moment, it has been accepted as fact by 21 countries – including Russia, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Greece, Switzerland, Canada, and 42 states of America – as well as the European Parliament and the Vatican.

The Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide memorial

There is no consensus, though, on the number of the victims. The Republic of Turkey, the successor state of the Ottoman Empire, says only about 300,000 people died, and also does not accept the term 'genocide' regarding the events.

Western scholars agree on from five to six hundred thousand victims.

In 1967, the Armenian authorities erected a memorial at the Tsitsernakaberd hill in the capital of Yerevan to symbolize the people’s grief, and the revival of the nation.

On Friday, a memorial service will be held there with tens of thousands of people attending, as is usually the case.

Meanwhile, this time, the commemoration date comes just a day after a groundbreaking joint statement was made by Armenia and Turkey on creating a ‘roadmap’ to normalize bilateral relations.