Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 26
Trend:
Armenians do not have any evidence that Azerbaijan has destroyed any monuments, said Mubariz Gurbanli, chairman of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations of Azerbaijan, Oct. 26.
He was commenting on an opinion that “monuments are being destroyed by both sides,” which is reflected in the appeal signed at a meeting of religious leaders in Moscow.
Gurbanli said Azerbaijan has irrefutable facts that the Armenian side massively destroys historical monuments in the occupied Azerbaijani territories and in the territory of the present state called Armenia, created on the lands that belonged to Azerbaijan in the past.
He added that Armenians are also appropriating churches belonging to the Caucasian Albania.
“This is a well-known fact, and the Armenian side, by distorting this document, is trying to spread such information. In fact, no accusations were made in that document against the Azerbaijani side, and Armenians do not have any facts confirming the destruction of monuments by Azerbaijan. Armenians, as always, are again engaged in fictions,” added Gurbanli.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
