The Visit of National Commissions on UNESCO Matters to Shushi Appears More Blasphemous and Provocative: NKR MFA

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh commented on the visit of the national commissions on UNESCO matters from Turksoy member countries to the occupied Shushi:

“We strongly condemn the visit of the delegation of national commissions on UNESCO matters from Turksoy member countries to the occupied Armenian city of Shushi on April 8. It is evident that this illegal visit, along with the holding of similar events in the occupied Armenian city of Shushi, aims at legitimizing the results of the aggressive war unleashed by Azerbaijan and its allies against the Republic of Artsakh and its people in 2020, as well as the unlawful use of force. We reiterate that the city of Shushi is an inseparable part of Artsakh in both territorial and cultural, economic, and historical terms.

The visit of the national commissions on UNESCO matters to Shushi appears even more blasphemous and provocative, taking into account the ongoing illegal blockade of Artsakh for the past four months, the systematic destruction and falsification of the identity of Armenian religious, historical, and cultural monuments in areas under the control of Azerbaijani armed forces, including the ancient Armenian city of Shushi, as well as the continuous obstacles raised by Azerbaijani authorities regarding the issues of sending a UNESCO assessment mission to Nagorno-Karabakh for the purpose of cataloging cultural heritage objects and studying their condition.

With such actions, the Azerbaijani authorities aim to receive tacit approval from individual states and representatives of international structures for their criminal plans of ethnic cleansing, which aim to erase the Armenian presence in Artsakh and obliterate traces of a millennia-long presence. The manipulation of familial ties between countries and peoples in the interest of falsifying history and promoting one's own political discourse is unacceptable and does not contribute to the strengthening of peace and mutual understanding between nations.

In this regard, we once again remind that the continuing cases of vandalism and desecration by Azerbaijan against churches and other cultural and religious monuments in Artsakh, including the occupied Armenian Shushi, constitute gross violations of international law, as well as a blatant breach of the interim measures decision of the International Court of Justice of the United Nations dated December 7, 2021.”