Ex-chairman of the Turkish Historical Society Yusuf Halacoglu said that according to German sources, the original cross of Holy Cross Church in Akhtamar island has been taken to Armenia.

“Turkey should demand the original cross from Armenia,” he said.

Hurriyet daily quoted Halacoglu as saying that in 1907 a French couple visited the church and accepted the cross as a gift from the priests.

Currently, a cross made through financial assistance of the Armenian community of Istanbul is set atop the church.