Former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans reflected on the Armenian Genocide issue on Twitter in the context of the massive fire that ravaged Notre Dame cathedral in Paris on Monday.

“Today, as France and the entire world mourn the destruction by fire of Notre Dame de Paris, I am thinking of what the Armenians lost in terms of churches, some filled with priests and people, in the Armenian Genocide. Horrific,” he tweeted.

“6th century khachkars were roughly as ancient as the Buddhas of Bamiyan, destroyed by Taliban on 2001. Wanton destruction,”he has also tweeted.