Ministry of Foreign Affairs Responds to Azerbaijani Culture Minister's Statement

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia strongly condemns the February 3 statement by Azerbaijani Culture Minister Anar Kerimov regarding the creation of a working group aimed at destroying and altering the identity of Armenian religious and historical-cultural monuments under Azerbaijani control. This was announced by the spokesperson of the Armenian MFA, Vahan Hunanyan.

“The establishment of such an entity at the state level with the intent to deliberately and illegally appropriate the cultural heritage of a neighboring people and deprive it of its historical memory is unprecedented even in the history of conflicts. It further attests that the cases of vandalism and destruction of Armenian historical-cultural and religious heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh during the 44-day war and the subsequent period are characterized by deliberate and planned intent, forming part of the policy to deprive Nagorno-Karabakh of its indigenous Armenian population,” the statement said.

This move by the Azerbaijani government is a blatant challenge to the decision made by the International Court of Justice on December 7, 2021, which clearly obligates Azerbaijan to “take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration directed against Armenian cultural heritage, including churches and other places of worship, monuments, historical sites, cemeteries, and artifacts.”

Given the current situation, it is increasingly urgent for the international community, particularly UNESCO, to intervene immediately and engage on the ground to preserve the Armenian monuments in Artsakh, which are part of the universal cultural heritage, and to prevent further acts of vandalism. The policy of destroying Armenian historical and cultural heritage and distorting their identity contradicts Azerbaijan's declarations regarding reaching peace and poses serious obstacles to establishing lasting peace in the region,” the statement concluded.