The president of the Italian Regional Council of Lombardy, Raffaele Cattaneo, met with the Turkish Consul General in Milan, Aylin Sekizkok, Lombardia Quotidiano reported.

The Turkish diplomat asked Cattaneo to once again reconsider, before the deliberations, on Councilmember Stefano Bruno Galli’s bill, which calls on the regional government to assist in the Armenian Genocide commemorations, and take measures to force Turkey to recognize the genocide, and as a necessary condition for membership in the European Union.

“Start recognizing the truth! This is the spark which will start sound discussions in our council. Dialogue, peace, and mutual respect toward different nations are the principles of our work,” Cattaneo responded to the Turkish consul’s aforesaid request.

“The tragedy in 1915 has had a profound impact on the 20th century history. The Armenian people’s and other similar tragedies should be observed not solely from the viewpoint of the law, but that of historical truth,” Galli stated, for his part.