Secretary General of Belgium's Socialist Party Gilles Mahieu heard explanations of MP Emir Kir regarding his absence from the minute of silence honoring Armenian Genocide victims in the Belgian parliament, RTBF reported.

In a statement issued by Mahieu after the meeting, he said the Socialist party decided to expose the attitude and at the same time to appease anger or conflict.

The Socialist party reiterated that mass killings and organized deportation of Armenians was genocide committed in the Ottoman Empire. However, Mr Mahieu noted that MP Emir Kir is aware of the position of his party and had never questioned it.

Although the Socialist party clearly uses the word “genocide” in the beginning of its statement, the part referring to Kir's position is ambiguous: “In accordance with the official position of the Belgian government, and thus position of Belgium, Emir Kir fully recognizes and condemns this human tragedy.”

As reported earlier, the conference of the Chamber of Representatives of the Belgian Federal Parliament decided to honor the memory of Armenian Genocide victims, but Emir Kir and several other MPs of Turkish origin were absent from the ceremony.