The Armenian parliament has called upon the international community to recognise the massacres of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire 100 years ago as a genocide.
In a resolution passed unanimously on Tuesday, MPs called upon parliaments and international organisations worldwide to condemn what they called the genocide of Armenians as a grave crime against humanity.
Armenia on Friday commemorates the centenary of the massacres of 1915 and 1916, in which historians say up to 1.5 million people were killed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Francois Hollande will attend Friday's commemoration in Yerevan.
Turkey, the Ottoman Empire's successor state, rejects the genocide label and argues that the death toll has been vastly inflated. Armenia and rights activists accuse Ankara of denying the genocide.
More than 20 countries have so far recognised the massacres as genocide, including Russia, France and Lebanon. The European Parliament, Pope Francis and other institutions have also used the term, while Germany's government this week said it would support a parliamentary motion to recognise a genocide.
But other countries, including the United States, Britain and Israel, have refused to do so, arguing that it would harm relations with Turkey.
Lebanon, which has a large Armenian community, will close all schools on Friday.
The decision, the first of its kind in the country, was announced by Education Minister Elias Bou Saab, with details released via local media outlets on Tuesday.
Lebanon's Armenian community has planned a large rally on Friday, stretching from a cathedral in east Beirut to Burj Hammoud, an area where many Armenians live.
The community numbers about 150,000, many of whom descend from either the survivors of forced deportations or the victims of the massacres.
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