Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for his decision to designate April 24 a "national day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide".

The Catholicos said he believes the decision is the expression of Macron’s connection with justice, historical truth, and the recognition of the first genocide of the 20th century.

Speaking to the Armenian community at a dinner in Paris, Macron said France was one of the first nations to denounce the killing of the Armenian people for what it was.

"France is, first and foremost, the country that knows how to look history in the face," he said.

Armenians commemorate the mass killings on April 24 because on that date in 1915 a group of Armenian intellectuals was rounded up and assassinated in Constantinople by the Ottoman government. On April 24, Armenians worldwide will be commemorating the 104th anniversary of the Genocide which continued until 1923. Some three dozen countries, hundreds of local government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million Armenians as Genocide. Turkey denies to this day.