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Armenia marks centennial of killing of 1.5 million

Priests carry an icon to attend a religious service in Echmiadzin, the religious center of the Armenian Church outside the capital Yerevan, Armenia, Thursday, April 23, 2015. On Friday, April 24, Armenians will mark the centenary of what historians estimate to be the slaughter of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks, an event widely viewed by scholars as genocide. Turkey, however, denies the deaths constituted genocide and says the death toll has been inflated. The Armenian Apostolic Church, the country's dominant religion, held services Thursday to canonize all victims. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Priests carry an icon to attend a religious service in Echmiadzin, the religious center of the Armenian Church outside the capital Yerevan, Armenia, Thursday, April 23, 2015. On Friday, April 24, Armenians will mark the centenary of what historians estimate to be the slaughter of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks, an event widely viewed by scholars as genocide. Turkey, however, denies the deaths constituted genocide and says the death toll has been inflated. The Armenian Apostolic Church, the country's dominant religion, held services Thursday to canonize all victims. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Priests carry an icon to attend a religious service in Echmiadzin, the religious center of the Armenian Church outside the capital Yerevan, Armenia, Thursday, April 23, 2015. On Friday, April 24, Armenians will mark the centenary of what historians estimate to be the slaughter of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks, an event widely viewed by scholars as genocide. Turkey, however, denies the deaths constituted genocide and says the death toll has been inflated. The Armenian Apostolic Church, the country's dominant religion, held services Thursday to canonize all victims. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

By Associated Press 1 min read

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – World leaders are attending ceremonies commemorating the massacre 100 years ago of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

The event around the time of the World War I is widely viewed by historians as genocide. Modern Turkey, the successor to the Ottoman Empire, vehemently rejects the charge.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande and other world leaders and dignitaries assembled Friday morning at the Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex in the capital, Yerevan.

Each leader walked along the memorial with a single yellow rose and put it into the center of a wreath resembling a forget-me-not, a flower that was made the symbol of the commemoration.