Lithuanian FM marks centennial of Armenian massacre, falls short of calling it ‘genocide’

Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs on Friday called the massacre of Armenians during WWI one of the greatest tragedies of the twentieth century, but refrained from using the word “genocide,” Delfi agency reports.

“It’s important today to honor those victims as (the death of) 1.5 million is in fact a great tragedy and one of the greatest tragedies in the twentieth century. That’s the most important thing. And everything else, let’s leave it to historians, politicians and others to discuss,” Minister Linas Linkevičius told the Žinių Radijas news radio on Friday when asked about the recognition of the Armenian genocide.

Linkevičius also did not use the word “genocide” in his Thursday post on Twitter.

In a 2005 resolution, the Seimas of Lithuania recognized the fact that “the genocide of the Armenian nation” took place in the Ottoman Empire. Besides Lithuania, several dozen other countries have named the massacre genocide.