Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for labeling the 1915 events as Armenian Genocide.

"It's not the first time Russia used the word genocide on this issue. I'm personally sad that Putin took such a step. What is happening in Ukraine and Crimea is evident. They should firstly explain these before calling it genocide," Erdogan said during a news conference in Ankara, Reuters reports.

On Friday Russia’s President Vladimir Putin visited Yerevan on occasion of Armenian Genocide Centennial commemoration events and delivered a speech at Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex.