Azerbaijan, Baku, 3 Dec / Trend corr. R.Novruzov/ U.S. State Department official condemned destruction of Azerbaijani historical monuments by Armenia.
The United States condemns any action intended to destroy historical monuments, Alina Romanowski, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Professional and Cultural Exchanges, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, said to journalists in Baku on 3 Dec.
The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.
As a result of intervention, a great number of Azerbaijani historical and cultural monuments were destroyed, with 464 historical monuments, over 40,000 fancy-works, and 4.6mln books among them.
Azerbaijan has already submitted the lists of destroyed monuments to the Council of Europe, which plans to send a mission to the region to study the state of the historical and cultural monuments remaining in the occupied territory.
The purpose of Romanowski's visit to Azerbaijan is to attend the Intercultural Dialogue as Basis for Peaceful Co-Existence and Sustainable Development in Europe and Neighbouring Regions conference taking place in Baku on 2 and 3 Dec. Council of Europe and Azerbaijani Culture and Tourism Ministry are the organizers of the conference.
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