Turkey has recalled its ambassador to the Vatican for consultations in an escalating diplomatic row over Pope Francis" use of the word "genocide" to describe the massacres of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

"Our ambassador to the Vatican Mr Mehmet Pacaci is being recalled back to Turkey for consultations," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday after earlier summoning the Vatican"s envoy to Ankara to the ministry.

The ministry said in a statement that the pope"s comments were "null and void" to the Turkish people.

The Turkish people would not recognize the Pope"s statement "which is controversial in every aspect, which is based on prejudice, which distorts history and reduces the pains suffered in Anatolia under the conditions of the First World War to members of just one religion," read the statement.

Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians died in clashes with Ottoman soldiers beginning in 1915, when Armenia was part of the empire ruled from Istanbul, but denies 1,5 million people were killed and that the incidents amounted to genocide.