This week, Culture and Tourism Minister Atilla Koc said they would be renovating the Armenian Akhtamar Church in the Ani region of Kars with cooperation of the Armenian Church. He said Armenian consultants and experts were involved in the planning stages of the project. According to Koc the opening ceremony of the renovated church will happen on April 24 in the presence of leading artists, scholars and historians. This is seen as a cultural and religious message of conciliation, reports Turkish Daily News.

On April 24 the Armenian people mark the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire where 1.5 million of Armenians were slaughtered.