Armenian president calls Germany's resolution on genocide 'historic step'

09:38, 03.06.2016 1 min read

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has written letters thanking Germany's president, chancellor and Bundestag chief, for the passage of a resolution on the Armenian genocide, the president's press office said.

"The passage of the resolution is an historic step not only for the Armenian people and Germany, but also for the entire civilized world. This step symbolizes the supremacy of democracy, common human values, and underscores Germany's consistent role in the cause of safeguarding these values. It is a message to the whole world that not only are the crimes against humanity committed even 100 years ago not forgotten, but they are also being explicitly condemned," the president said in the letter.

Bundestag (Germany's parliament) on Thursday approved almost unanimously the resolution recognizing the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

There was only one vote against the resolution and one abstention.

Bundestag consists of 630 members.