Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 4
By Ilhama Isabalayeva – Trend:
Some 900 cultural and religious monuments were destroyed in Azerbaijan as a result of the Armenian occupation, Mubariz Gurbanli, the chairman of the Azerbaijani State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations, said at an event entitled "Protection of cultural and religious heritage in the Caucasus" Dec. 4.
“The protection of the cultural and religious heritage is an important issue,” he said. “In this regard, many documents ratified by Azerbaijan as well were adopted at the international level.”
He said that the Caucasus is one of the unique regions of the world with representatives of many world religions.
"Historical monuments are destroyed not only today,” he said. “This happened earlier. Unfortunately, humanity has learned nothing from the past."
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 two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
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