Ceremonies mark Gallipoli, massacre of Armenians

Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan hosted leaders from the former Allied powers of World War I to pay tribute on Friday to the tens of thousands killed in the Battle of Gallipoli 100 years after one of the most wasteful yet emblematic campaigns of the conflict.

The same day, a Turkish government minister for the first time attended a Mass to mark the 1915 massacre of Armenians in Istanbul, then known as Constantinople.

"We respect the suffering of our Armenian brothers. That is why we have come to take part in this ceremony," European Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkir told the press, as a message in Armenian and English from Erdogan was read to the congregation at a solemn ceremony in Istanbul.