Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

Baku has expressed its hope that UNESCO will soon send its mission to Azerbaijan to record Armenia's destructions on the territories that it had occupied for decades.

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva made the remarks on August 26 to comment on the Armenian Foreign Ministry's reaction to the dispatch of UNESCO's mission to Karabakh.

"As official Yerevan declared that they do not object to the implementation of such a mission, we hope that the mission will be sent soon and results of the policy of deliberate destruction of historical, cultural, and religious heritage, pursued by Armenia for decades, will be recorded," she said.

The spokesperson recalled that Armenia pursuing a policy of aggression against Azerbaijan, keeping a part of its internationally recognized territories under military occupation for nearly 30 years, bears responsibility for military crimes such as the deliberate destruction, misappropriation and alteration of historical, cultural and religious heritage in these lands, illicit removal of Azerbaijan's cultural heritage from the country.

"Numerous appeals have been made to UNESCO by Azerbaijan regarding the dispatch of the mission to the region for investigation of these war crimes and it was exactly Armenia, who prevented international missions from visiting Azerbaijani territories under occupation at that time," Abdullayeva said.

The spokesperson noted that the fact had been reflected in the organization's reports.

"We recommend the Armenian Foreign Ministry to get acquainted with the activity report of UNESCO published in 2005. The report clearly states that the government of Azerbaijan has requested a fact-finding mission to Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied surrounding territories, but due to the military occupation of Armenia this mission has not been possible," the spokesperson stressed.

She noted that Azerbaijan has commented many times on the dispatch of UNESCO's independent and objective mission to the liberated territories and even called for the acceleration of the process.

Abdullayeva underlined that after the liberation of Azerbaijan's territories from occupation, the scale of deliberate destructions committed by Armenia in Azerbaijani lands have been comprehensively noted by the international community, including state officials, independent media agencies, and NGOs.

She noted that "false and absurd accusations against Azerbaijan by a country, which committed unprecedented vandalism and 'cultural cleansing', with the aim to cover up its deeds is, unfortunately, not new. The Armenian side should finally understand that this experience has no prospects".

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