Lawmakers in Bulgaria's Parliament have moved to recognize what they have called "mass extermination" of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the 1910s and early 1920s.

The exact wording of the adopted declaration does not amount to "genocide".

Earlier, Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov, who surprisingly arrived in Parliament on Friday ahead of a visit to Romania, said that "mass extermination" was the only name MPs could give to the tragic events.

Parliament's official decision sets April 24 as a remembrance day for Armenian victims who perished within that period of time.

It was approved overwhelmingly, 157-36 (which means most of the 240 lawmakers were present for the session).

In Armenia and elsewhere, Friday's centenary is being marked with commemorative ceremonies.

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