YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. The statement of the minister of culture of Azerbaijan Anar Karimov is a proof that an attempt is being made to simply erase the traces of the presence of the Armenian people from Nagorno Karabakh, in their historical homeland in general, ARMENPRESS reports Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan said at the National Assembly, referring to the statement of the Azerbaijani minister of culture about setting up a working group aimed at changing the identity of the Armenian cultural and religious monuments that have passed under the Azerbaijani control.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made a statement regarding the position and intention of the minister of culture of Azerbaijan. And in that statement we strongly condemned that approach. In our opinion, this is another proof of the fact that an attempt is being made to simply erase the traces of the presence of the Armenian people from Nagorno Karabakh, from their historical homeland in general”, Mirzoyan said, adding that its’ also a challenge for the UN International Court of Justice in terms of the decision of December 7, 2021 on the application of urgent measures, which clearly obliges Azerbaijan to prevent, punish cases of vandalism of Armenian cultural heritage, religious heritage, including churches, other monuments, and sights. Azerbaijan must fulfill its obligation imposed by the court decision”, Mirzoyan said.

The Foreign Minister noted that the intervention of UNESCO becomes imperative here, and Armenia welcomed the intention of sending a UNESCO assessment mission to the region, about which Armenia and Azerbaijan exchanged views on February 4.

"There are no clear dates, but the parties have reaffirmed the importance of such a visit to the region. And now, after this announcement, we are applying to the UNESCO, we are also planning non-online meetings to discuss this issue. In our opinion, that visit should take place in accordance with the principles established by the 1954 Convention on the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the event of armed conflict," Mirzoyan concluded.