ANKARA, Turkey — Pope Francis arrived in Turkey on Friday at a sensitive moment for the Muslim nation, as it cares for 1.6 million refugees and weighs how to deal with the Islamic State group as its fighters grab chunks of Syria and Iraq across Turkey’s southern border.

Francis was expected to use his opening speeches to denounce the violence being committed in God’s name by the extremists, and to express solidarity with the Christians and other religious minorities who have been targeted by the onslaught, massacred or forced to leave their homes.

The pope was greeting by a line of Turkish dignitaries, headed by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, as he descended the steps of his plane at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport. He inspected and greeted Turkish honor guards before heading to the mausoleum of the Turkish republic’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, where he is scheduled to lay a wreath.

Francis paid tribute to Turkey’s willingness to host so many refugees during a brief encounter with journalists aboard the papal plane, praising its humanitarian response to “so many refugees from conflict zones.”

The three-day visit will give Francis a chance to reach out to Turkey’s tiny Christian community.