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World

Turkish prime minister says pope joined 'evil front' plotting against Turkey

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    Members of European Parliament stand for a moment of silence at the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday, April 15, 2015. MEP's on Wednesday will discuss the Multi-annual Financial Framework for 2014-2020, the anniversary of the Bangladesh factory fire and an estimated 1.5 million Armenians who were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) (The Associated Press)

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    Members of European Parliament hold signs which read "Respect UNSCR 194 Right of Return" and "Respect Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk" during a plenary session at European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday, April 15, 2015. MEP's on Wednesday will discuss the Multi-annual Financial Framework for 2014-2020, the anniversary of the Bangladesh factory fire and an estimated 1.5 million Armenians who were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) (The Associated Press)

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    Pope Francis, center, is greeted by the head of Armenia's Orthodox Church Karekin II, right, during an Armenian-Rite Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 12, 2015. Pope Francis on Sunday called the slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks "the first genocide of the 20th century" and urged the international community to recognize it as such, sparking a diplomatic rift with Turkey. Turkey, which has long denied a genocide took place, immediately summoned the Vatican ambassador to complain and promised a fuller official response. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) (The Associated Press)

ISTANBUL – Adding to angry comments about the Pope Francis' description of the Ottoman-era killing of Armenians as genocide, Turkey's prime minister says that the pontiff has joined an evil front plotting against Turkey.

Ahmet Davutoglu made the comments at an event in Ankara outlining the ruling party's platform for June parliamentary elections and presenting its candidates. He called the pope's description of the killings of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians as "the first genocide of the 20th century" unjust.

Turkey denies the killings that began 100 years ago were genocide. It contends those who died were victims of civil war and unrest, and the death toll has been inflated.

Davutoglu said: "An evil front is being formed before us...Now the pope has joined it and these plots."