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The Artsakh Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport on Friday called on international organizations to take action to prevent the destruction of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage in the Azerbaijani-held areas. The full text of its statement is provided below.

"Since Soviet times, the ruthless destruction of Armenian monuments, on the one hand, and their misappropriation, on the other, have become a key part of the state policy of the Azerbaijani authorities. There are many facts about how ruthlessly destroyed monuments with Armenian inscriptions, such as churches, monasteries and khachkars(cross stones), which clearly indicates their belonging to the Armenian people.

There are many facts about how the monuments with Armenian inscriptions, such as churches, monasteries, and khachkars, were ruthlessly destroyed, which clearly indicate that they belong to the Armenian people.

At present, on the background of anti-Armenianism in Azerbaijan, a new quality and process to the policy of destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage has been given by the president of that country. Just a few months ago, the statements and interviews of the president of Azerbaijan with the international media on the accidental destruction of the Ghazanchetsots Church, the instruction on the destruction of Armenian inscriptions from Armenian monuments, reaffirm that the president of Azerbaijan, who speaks of universal values, on the one hand continues to mislead the international community, trying to present himself as the leader of a "civilized" country, and on the other hand the real policy being pursued, clearly proves that this country continues to be the enemy of universal civilization.

It is another obvious fact that the further existence of our historical and cultural heritage is more endangered in the current political situation. Such an attitude deepens the conflict, thwarting the efforts of the intermediary countries to resolve it peacefully.

We call on all international organizations dealing with the fate of human civilization to make every effort to take practical measures in order to prevent a new cultural genocide on the territory of Artsakh instructed by the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan."