Azerbaijani officials continue to spread targeted racial hatred and take no steps to stop the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage.

The Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in the Hellenic Republic issued a statement ․

“Artsakh has always been proud of the religious and cultural monuments in its territory, considering them a part of its historical and cultural heritage. The people of Artsakh are also concerned about the preservation of Russian religious and cultural heritage monuments.

It is noteworthy that the state budget of the Artsakh Republic envisages expenditures for the preservation and restoration of historical and cultural monuments every year, as the field of preservation, study and use of historical and cultural monuments is one of the most important and special spheres of the history and culture of the Artsakh Republic.

The Russian Church of the Holy Mother of God is located in Gevorgavan district of Martuni region of the Artsakh Republic. The church was built more than 100 years ago by immigrants from Russia. It is made of limestone, yellowish in appearance. It has two entrances, which open from the west and north sides. There are more than two dozen windows. The parishioners of the church were Russian settlers. In 1989, the restoration work of the church began, which was interrupted due to the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, during which the church again suffered great damage. Before the start of the war in 2020, the government of the Artsakh Republic was working on a project to restore the church and was looking for a sponsor to start the restoration work.

Thus, the propaganda material spread by Anastasia Lavrina and the Azerbaijani Embassy in Greece in Greek language, the propaganda material about the alleged “encroachments” of the Russian Orthodox religious heritage on the territory of the Artsakh Republic, is another provocative, baseless and false misinformation. It aims to spread hatred towards Armenians and try to drive a wedge in the relations between Armenia and its relatives. The country that deliberately destroys cultural monuments is trying to cover up the numerous cases of vandalism committed by it with baseless accusations.

In this regard, it should be noted that on 7 December, the UN International Court of Justice issued decisions on the application of urgent measures presented by Armenia and Azerbaijan in the framework of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Among other measures, the court OBLIGED Azerbaijan first to “take all necessary measures to prevent the incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination against ethnic Armenians, including by Azerbaijani officials and state institutions.” On the other hand, the court obliges Azerbaijan to “take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration of the Armenian cultural heritage, including against churches and other places of worship, monuments, sights, cemeteries and artifacts.”

“Contrary to the rulings of the International Court of Justice, Azerbaijani officials continue to spread targeted racial hatred and do not take any steps to stop the destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage,” the statement reads.