ANTELIAS. – Catholicos Aram I of the Armenian Church Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church, in Antelias, Lebanon, has sent a letter of gratitude to French President Emmanuel Macron.

In the letter, the Catholicos welcomed the decision to declare April 24 as Armenian Genocide commemoration day in France, the Catholicosate’s press office informed.

As reported earlier, at the recent annual dinner of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations in France, Macron stated that, from now on, April 24 will be recognized in France as Armenian Genocide remembrance day.

Also, the French president noted that he personally had informed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of this decision.

Turkish presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın, however, had reacted to this decision and accused Macron of using historical events as a tool for political objectives.

At the aforesaid dinner, the French president also paid tribute to legendary French Armenian artist Charles Aznavour, who passed away on October 1, 2018 aged 94.

In 2001, France officially recognized the Armenian Genocide, and in 2016, it criminalized the denial of this tragedy.