Envoy says Uzbekistan interested in Karabakh's rehabilitation
By Vafa Ismayilova
Uzbek ambassador Bahrom Ashrafkhanov has said that his country is interested in joining the restoration on Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenia's occupation in a 44-day war in 2020.
He made the remarks at a meeting with the head of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations, Mubariz Gurbanli.
The ambassador once again congratulated Azerbaijan on the victory in the second Karabakh war and the establishment of peace in the region.
Ashrafkhanov underlined that during the war he visited Tartar, Barda, and Ganja cities. The diplomat expressed deep regret over the consequences of the war crimes committed by Armenia on the Azerbaijani territories far beyond the front line.
He stressed that during his visit to the region he witnessed the acts of vandalism committed by the Armenians in Fuzuli and Aghdam, which is called the "Hiroshima of the Caucasus".
Ashrafkhanov stressed that the construction work launched on those territories shows that Azerbaijan is confidently moving towards new goals as a winning country.
The ambassador stressed that the Uzbek side is interested in participating in construction and improvement work on the liberated lands.
Azerbaijan has launched huge reconstruction on its liberated territories, including the restoration of its historical, cultural and religious heritage, which was destroyed during the decades-long Armenian occupation.
In a statement on May 5, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said that Armenia has systematically and deliberately destroyed or altered the nature of the cultural and historical heritage on the formerly occupied areas. During the years of occupation, Armenia annihilated the museum-owned manuscripts and other valuable exhibits or put them up for sale in black markets by stealing them, looted the valuable art of Azerbaijani carpet weaving, and hundreds of cultural institutions, 927 libraries with a book fund of 4.6 million, 22 museums and museum branches with more than 100,000 exhibits, 4 art galleries, 8 culture, and recreation parks. It added that one of the oldest settlements in the world in Fuzuli region - Azykh Cave, Shusha State Historical and Architectural Reserve had become victims of Armenia's vandalism.
A Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal that Baku and Yerevan signed on November 10 brought an end to 44 days of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.
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