Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Iran has said it condemns the destruction of mosques and historical monuments by Armenians in Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region -- which has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since a brutal war fought in the early 1990s.

"Iran condemns such actions regardless of where in the world they take place. Cultural monuments have to be treated with respect," Iranian presidential adviser and chairman of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, Mohammad Bagher Hurramshad, said Friday, according to the Baku-based Trend news agency.

Hurramshad is in the Azerbaijani capital Baku to participate at an international conference.

Azerbaijan has prepared a list of 67 religious monuments destroyed by Armenians in its occupied territories and held its presentation in London within the conference titled "Model of tolerance in Azerbaijan in the context of multiculturalism in Europe".

Azerbaijan has repeatedly expressed its concern over the issue of the destruction of religious and historical monuments in its occupied territories and is committed to inform the world community of the damage to its cultural heritage.

The destruction and intentional damage inflicted to the historical and cultural monuments by the Armenian invaders in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan contradict the 1954 Hague convention on preservation of cultural values during armed conflicts, the 1992 European convention on preservation of archeological heritage, and the 1972 UNESCO convention on preservation of world cultural and natural heritage.

For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict which emerged over Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but long-standing efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far. Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on its pullout from the neighboring country's territories.