The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has urged that the Armenian cultural heritage sites be protected amid the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"The Metropolitan Museum of Art is dedicated to preserving and exhibiting human creativity of over 5,000 years from across the globe. As the organizer and host of the "Armenia!" exhibition in 2018—which was the first major exhibition to explore the remarkable artistic and cultural achievements of the Armenian people in a global context over 14 centuries—we have watched in horror and sadness at the recent violence and bloodshed in the Nagorno-Karabakh region," ⁣President and CEO⁣ Daniel H. Weiss and Director Max Hollein said in the statement on Tuesday, November 18. ⁣ "We implore all those involved to respect these international cultural heritage sites, which enrich our world and have survived for thousands of years. The loss of cultural heritage sites is permanent, and is a grievous theft from future generations."

In addition to our plea and hope for the violence to stop, as museum leaders we urge that cultural heritage sites be protected."

Dozens of historic Armenian monuments will be coming under Azerbaijan's control in the coming weeks, including Dadivank Monastery, Amaras Monastery, the ruins and the archeological site of Tigranakert, to name a few. Azerbaijanis have a record of destroying and vandalizing Armenian heritage. For now, however, Russian peacekeepers have been deployed to the area near Dadivank to ensure the safety of both the church and the perishoners.

⁣Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev have signed a statement to end the war in Karabakh after almost 45 days. Karabakh (Artsakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan has said he has agreed to the deal signed by Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan.