This article originally appeared at Vestnik Kavkaza
President of Russia Vladimir Putin delivered a speech at the events marking the 100th anniversary of the tragic events in the Ottoman Empire.
“There is not and cannot be any justification for the mass murder of people. Russia initiated a number of international legal instruments that laid the foundations of modern international criminal law, including the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” RIA Novosti cited him as saying.
The President said that “the world community must make every effort, so that the tragic events of the past will never happen again, so that all nations could live in peace and consent without knowing the horror which results from stirring up religious animosity, aggressive nationalism and xenophobia.”
He also stressed that today Russia mourns together with the Armenian people. “Hundreds of Russian cities will hold more than 2000 memorial events. The events will involve not only Armenians in Russia but also tens of thousands of representatives of other nations,” Putin said.