French President to Visit Armenia on April 24

Hollande urges Turkey to ‘break taboos’ on Armenian Genocide

PARIS — French President Francois Hollande confirmed on Wednesday he will visit Armenia on April 24 for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. He also called on Turkey to take new steps towards the “truth” behind the mass killings of Armenians a century ago, saying “it is time to break the taboos,” AFP reports.

“The effort towards the truth must continue and I am convinced that this centenary year will see new gestures, new steps on the road to recognition,” Hollande said at a dinner with Armenian groups in Paris.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this month said he would “actively” challenge a campaign to pressure Turkey to recognise the massacres as genocide, though a year ago he offered an unprecedented expression of condolences for the 1915-1916 killings.

Recalling Erdogan’s stance last year, Hollande told members of France’s Armenian community that Ankara’s position “cannot stop there”.

“It is time to break the taboos and for the two nations, Armenia and Turkey, to create a new beginning,” he said.