The European Parliament backed a motion on Wednesday that calls the massacre a century ago of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces a "genocide", days after Pope Francis triggered fury in Turkey by using the same term.

After the vote, the Turkish foreign ministry accused the European Parliament of attempting to rewrite history.

Armenia"s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian hailed the resolution as a move aimed at defending human rights.

The European Parliament calls on Yerevan and Ankara"s to restore diplomatic ties.