Azernews.Az

Ethnic Armenian French singer Charles Aznavour has said he was concerned over the term "genocide" when referring to the World War I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

"The word genocide disturbs [me]. Another word should be found to reopen the Turkish-Armenian border and to [facilitate] dialogue with Turks," Aznavour said on Vivement Dimanche show aired on France 2 TV channel on Sunday.

The singer said the Turks are often unfairly criticized and are "good people".

"I am dreaming about visiting Turkey. Because the Turks are not at all as they say, they are good people. The weather is good there, and the food is, too."

The Armenian community in France has harshly criticized Aznavour over the Internet, accusing him of betraying the Armenian cause. But some Armenians have actually given support to him for his remarks.

Turkey and Armenia have been at odds for decades and their shared border has been shut since 1993 due to Armenia’s occupation of the territory of Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally, and Armenian "genocide" claims.

According to historians, from 1915 to 1923, Armenians began an uprising, taking up arms against Turkey, and assisted Russia, one of Turkey’s enemies in WWI. To counter these actions, the Ottoman Empire decided to resettle the Armenians. The latter claim that their predecessors were subjected to genocide in the process.