YEREVAN.- Turkey cannot become a part of Europe without recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Germany’s Ambassador Hans-Jochen Schmidt said in Tsitsernakaberd.

German Ambassador visited the memorial on Tuesday to honor memory of the Armenian Genocide victims.

“If Turkish government wants to build the future, it must admit its guilt just as Germany did,” he said.

According to him, the present generation of Turks is not guilty of the Armenian Genocide but they must be aware of the events and feel responsible for the actions of their ancestors.

Hitler’s remark “After all, who remembers the Armenian genocide” proves that impunity provokes new crimes, he added.

In the beginning of 20th century 1.5 million Armenians were annihilated in the Ottoman Empire. On April 24 Armenia and the world marks the 97th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th century.

The fact of the Armenian Genocide is recognized by many states. It was first recognized in 1965 by Uruguay. In general, the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey has already been recognizedby Russia, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Switzerland, Sweden, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Venezuela, Argentina, and 42 U.S. states.