ISTANBUL
A Turkish minister has been the first high-level figure to attend a religious ceremony to commemorate Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives during World War I.
EU Minister Volkan Bozkir represented Turkey at the ceremony held in Surp Asdvadzadzin Patriarchal Church in Kumkapi district, Istanbul, on Friday.
"We respect the sorrow that our Armenian brothers have experienced. We describe it as a ‘bad event’, experienced in the past. We never oppose the commemoration of these events," Bozkir told reporters before the ceremony.
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I and Markar Esayan, a ruling Justice and Development Party Armenian-Turkish parliamentary candidate were among the participants at the ceremony, which was led by Armenian Archbishop Aram Atesyan.
The ceremony came after Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu released a statement Monday, offering his condolences to the grandchildren of Ottoman Armenians.
Calling for a "common memory" Bozkir said: "We desire the period from 1870 to 1920, in which many people died, to be investigated instead of the 1915 events. Thanks to this, a common history and fair memory will be created."
"Our desire is to live together with our Armenian brothers in peace," he added.
Patriarchate officials welcomed the presence of a minister at the ceremony. "It is quite promising and pleasing. I think it is a symbol of the positive steps that have been taken so far," said Father Tatul Anusyan, board member of the Spiritual Committee of the Armenian Patriarchate, speaking to The Anadolu Agency.
The 1915 events took place during World War I when a portion of the Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire sided with the invading Russians and revolted.
Turkey has called for the establishment of a joint commission of historians and the opening of archives to study and uncover what happened between the Ottoman Empire and its Armenian citizens.
The relocation by the Ottomans of Armenians in eastern Anatolia following the revolts resulted in numerous casualties. Turkey does not dispute that there were casualties on both sides, but rejects the definition of "genocide."
