Saturday, November 14 2020 23:42

ArmInfo. Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC)  reported on the desecration of the Holy All-Savior Church of  Ghazanchetsots of Shushi in Artsakh that came under the control of  Azerbaijan. 

As the official website of AAC reports, the statement reads, in part:   "We were saddened to learn that on the night of November 9-10, after  the ceasefire agreement had been signed between the leaders of the  Republic of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia to stop the military  operations in Artsakh, the Azeris who entered the city of Shushi in  Artsakh desecrated the Holy All-Savior Church of Ghazanchetsots,  leaving their mark on the outer and inner walls of the church.  We  strongly condemn what happened as an expression of obvious vandalism  and intolerance. It must be impermissible for Azerbaijan, following  the steps of its supporter Turkey, to continue its policy of cultural  genocide, which has been pursued in various forms for decades in  Azerbaijan and in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic that is a part  of it.  At the same time, we call on the international community, as  well as the inter- religious and ecumenical institutions to raise  their voices and take appropriate steps to stop such barbarism  against the religious and cultural monuments and shrines in Artsakh  and manifestations of anti-Armenian dispositions by the Azerbaijani  authorities," .

Later on Saturday, the Kremlin press service said that Russian  President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with his  Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, during which the Russian leader  stated about the importance of ensuring the safety and normal church  life of Christian churches and monasteries in Karabakh. The Kremlin  said that the President of Azerbaijan showed understanding in this  respect and assured that the Azerbaijani side will act in this way.   On October 8, the Holy All-Savior Church of Ghazanchetsots of Shushi  was attacked twice. As a result of the second attack, three Russians  were injured - Yuri Kotenok, Levon Arzanov and a member of the  accompanying group Hrant Baladyan, who arrived at the scene to cover  the consequences of the attacking of the same temple in the morning.   Arzanov and Baladyan were later taken to Russia, Kotenok continued  his treatment in Yerevan. Earlier, the heads of Russia, Armenia and  Azerbaijan adopted a joint statement on a ceasefire in Karabakh.   According to a statement voiced by Russian President Vladimir Putin,  a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh begins on November 10,  Azerbaijan and Armenia stop at their taken positions, and must  exchange prisoners of war. Also, Russian peacekeepers will be  deployed in Karabakh. Pashinyan noted in a statement on Facebook that  this agreement was an extremely difficult decision for him. In turn,  Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called the signing of the document  a surrender of Armenia. According to him, the agreement is most  beneficial for Baku, now the military stage is completed and it is  possible to move on to political issues.