Armenci tvrde da je u genocidnoj kampanji Turaka Osmanlija u vrijeme Prvog svjetskog rata pobijeno 1,5 miliona njihovih rođaka. Iako priznaje da je tokom općih nemira u tom periodu stradalo na hiljade Armenaca, Turska tvrdi da je broj žrtava pretjeran, da je bilo masovnih pogibija i na strani Turaka, te da nije bilo namjerne kampanje genocida.
Armenians maintain that 1.5 million of their kin were killed in a genocidal campaign by the Ottoman Turks at the time of World War I. While acknowledging that thousands of Armenians did indeed perish during the general turbulence of the period, Turkey insists that the number of victims is exaggerated, that mass numbers of Turks also died, and that no deliberate campaign of genocide took place.