Newly elected Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Sahak Mashalian gave an interview to A Haber of Turkey.
Referring to the Armenian Genocide resolution adopted by the US Senate, Patriarch Mashalian noted that there is no Armenian family that has not survived the 1915 tragedy.
"1915 is genetically passed down from generation to generation among Armenians," Mashalian noted. “In the Ottoman era we [Armenians] were 2-2.5 million, now—40-60 thousand. During the last hundred years, the number of Armenians in these lands has declined sharply. After the tragic events of 1915, we decided to stay. "
Sahak Mashalian stressed that unless Turks and Armenians talk about 1915 together, other countries will make it their political, economic tool when sitting at the negotiating table with Turkey.
