Russia in favor of sending a UNESCO mission to Karabakh ASAPMay 21, 2021 - 17:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Russian Federation stands for the arrangement of a UNESCO mission to Nagorno-Karabakh as soon as possible, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova told reporters on Friday, May 21. Her comments came in response to a question about Russia's position as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group on the vandalism of Azerbaijan against Armenian cultural heritage in Karabakh. UNESCO has said on multiple occasions that Azerbaijani is delaying its approval for a mission to Karabakh (Artsakh) to assess damage to cultural and religious sites. “The preservation of cultural and historical heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions is regularly discussed in our contacts with Baku and Yerevan. The matter was discussed during the working visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Armenia and Azerbaijan in the first half of May. We support the early organization of a UNESCO mission to the region. We also work along the lines of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, ”Zakharova noted. She added that a statement issued by the co-chairs on April 13 mentioned that the preservation and protection of religious and cultural heritage are among the issues that require additional efforts from Azerbaijan and Armenia. During the recent military hostilities, Azerbaijani forces launched two targeted attacks on the Holy Savior Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi. Azerbaijan earlier "restored" a church by replacing its Armenian inscription with glass art. Furthermore, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev visited the region of Hadrut in territories occupied by Azerbaijan and declared his intention to "renovate" a 12th century Armenian church, which he claimed to "an Albanian church". Aliyev went so far as to accuse Armenians of leaving "fake inscriptions" in the Armenian language. Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. CSTO recognizes Armenia’s sovereign right to withdraw Tasmagambetov has said that if Armenia decides to leave the organization, “it will be the sovereign right of Armenia.” |