BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
Azerbaijani MP Soltan Mammadov responded to the accusations voiced by an Armenian participant in the meeting of the committee of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly (PA) in Yerevan regarding "cultural heritage", Trend reports.
The MP stressed that Azerbaijan is a multicultural country, which is recognized by the international community.
“Many national minorities live in Azerbaijan,” Mammadov added. “About 30,000 Armenian people live in Azerbaijan but there is not a single Azerbaijani in Armenia. As for cultural heritage, I would like to say that 64 out of 67 mosques in Karabakh region were razed to the ground. This is the fact.”
“We have tried to involve UNESCO in monitoring and assessing the cultural heritage of Azerbaijan in this region for 30 years, but this did not happen,” the MP said. “Now we expect the international community to independently assess and inform the international community about the results.”
“We don't want and never wanted war,” Mammadov said. “We have been waiting for the peaceful settlement of the conflict for more than 30 years. We have always followed the UN resolutions, which clearly determine the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan. We stand for peace, cooperation and friendship.”