Opposition Figure: Armenia Should Raise the Issue of Azerbaijan Preserving Armenian Religious and Historical Heritage

ArmInfo. There is no peace whatsoever between Armenia and Azerbaijan. MP Artur Khachatryan of the opposition “Armenia” faction stated this from the rostrum of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on September 14.

According to him, there is peace today between Germany and France; France respects Germany’s cultural heritage, while Germany, in turn, respects France’s cultural heritage. In the case of Azerbaijan, there is no respect whatsoever for the cultural heritage of the Armenian people; outright hostility is being displayed here. “Official Baku is seeking to completely erase Armenian traces in Artsakh. I will say more: their political claims extend far beyond Artsakh. Their spiritual leader even presents Etchmiadzin in his own interpretation, and this must be stopped at the highest level. The Armenian side must raise the issue of Azerbaijan preserving Armenian religious and historical heritage,” the opposition MP noted, recalling that at the last session of the 8th-convocation National Assembly, Armenia ratified an international convention on the preservation of cultural heritage. “At that time, the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports refused to answer my question as to whether Yerevan intended to take steps to prevent the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage, one manifestation of which is its so-called Albanization, which is unacceptable. Armenia is obliged to demand that Azerbaijan put an end to this barbarism,” Artur Khachatryan remarked.