Oskanian Proposed UNESCO Sec. Gen. to Send Expert Group to Nakhichevan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, who is on a visit in Paris, met yesterday with UNESCO Secretary General Koichiro Matsuura, reported RA MFA press office. The parties focused on the maintenance of the Armenian cultural heritage in the neighbor state. In this view Vartan Oskanian drew Mr. Matsuura's attention to the purposeful and consistent elimination of the Armenian khachkars (cross stones) and gravestones in Old Djulfa in Nakhichevan. Handing Mr. Matsuura the documents proving the demolition of the Armenian monuments the RA FM proposed the UNESCO Sec. Gen. to send an expert group to Nakhichevan to record the fact of destruction and undertake the essential steps. For his part Koichiro Matsuura voiced concern over the situation in Nakhichevan and noted that upon receiving the signal on the destruction of the Armenian monuments he instructed the UNESCO members to thoroughly investigate the case. Yesterday Vartan Oskanian left Paris for Berlin to meet with German officials.