Armenia hands invitation letter to Erdoğan to mark 100th anniversary of 1915

ANKARA

In this image taken from the Armenian Foreign Ministry website, President Erdoğan looks at the invitation given by Foreign Minister Nalbandian.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has officially invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to a ceremony that will mark the 100th anniversary of the killing of Ottoman Armenians in 1915.

Nalbandian attended Erdoğan’s inauguration ceremony in Ankara on Aug. 28, where he handed him the official letter to attend the ceremony next year.

“During the reception given after the ceremony in the honor of the heads of delegations, Nalbandian had a short conversation with President Erdoğan and handed him the official invitation letter by the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan to attend the Remembrance Ceremony, dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, which will take place in Yerevan on April 24, 2015,” a written statement by the Armenian Foreign Ministry said Aug. 29. The Turkish Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the issue.

For the first time, Erdoğan offered condolences for the mass killing of Armenians under Ottoman rule during World War I. His comments came on the eve of the 99th anniversary of the mass deportation of Armenians in 1915. Erdoğan said the events of 1915 had “inhumane consequences,” and expressed hope that those who died were at peace.