Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson's Response to Azerbaijani Culture Ministry

The spokesperson of the Armenian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement regarding the announcement made by the Azerbaijani Culture Ministry: “Following the end of the 44-day war, we consider the implementation of the UNESCO-led fact-finding mission in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, proposed by the UNESCO Secretary-General Audrey Azoulay, to be a priority and urgent issue. Armenia supports the prompt realization of this mission in accordance with the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two additional protocols.

The urgent need for the UNESCO fact-finding mission has arisen to protect Armenian cultural and religious heritage from the imminent threat of destruction in areas that have come under Azerbaijani control as a result of the war. Documented cases of vandalism against Armenian monuments, as well as the recent announcement by the Azerbaijani Culture Ministry to form a working group aimed at distorting the identity of Armenian historical and cultural heritage, indicate that such a threat is more than real. We view the proposal for a visit by the UNESCO delegation to Yerevan and Baku solely within the framework of the aforementioned mission proposed by the UNESCO Secretary-General.”