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As he has for the second year, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday marked the day set aside to commemorate the mass killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire without using the word “genocide.”

In a statement issued by the White House on the occasion of the 104th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the president called the Meds Yeghern [“great calamity” in Armenian] referring to it as “one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century.”

“On this day of remembrance, we again join the Armenian community in America and around the world in mourning the many lives lost,” reads the statement on behalf of Trump.

“On this day, we also honor and recognize the work of those who tried to end the violence, as well as those who sought to ensure atrocities like this would not be repeated, like human rights activist and lawyer Raphael Lemkin. We recall the contributions of generous Americans who helped save lives and rebuild Armenian communities. As we honor the memory of those who suffered, we also draw inspiration from the courage and resiliency of the Armenian people who, in the face of tremendous adversity, built vibrant communities around the world, including in the United States,” President Trump added.

The statement next praises the efforts of Armenians and Turks ‘to acknowledge and reckon with their painful history’’ and vowing to stand with the Armenian people in recalling the lives lost during the Meds Yeghern and reaffirm the commitment to a more peaceful world.’

To note, 49 U.S. states have recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide with only Mississippi remaining as the last U.S. state to officially recognize the crime.