Comment of the MFA Spokesperson on the statement by the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan
We emphasize the urgency and imperative of the implementation of UNESCO fact-finding mission in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone proposed by the UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay after the 44-day war. Armenia supports the prompt implementation 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 protocols.
The immediate need for implementing the UNESCO fact-finding mission occurred for the protection of Armenian cultural and religious heritage from the imminent threat of destruction in the territories fallen under control of Azerbaijan as a result of the war. The already documented cases of vandalism towards the Armenian monuments, as well as the announcement by the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan on the establishment of a working group aimed at the distortion of the identity of the Armenian historical-cultural heritage demonstrate that such danger is more than real.
We consider the offer of the visit of the UNESCO delegation to Yerevan and Baku exclusively within the framework of the above-mentioned mission proposed by the Director-General of the UNESCO.
