ArmInfo.Azerbaijan will be able to ensure the safety of Christian shrines in the regions of Nagorno-Karabakh that have come under its control. Russian ambassador to Baku Mikhail Bocharnikov expressed such confidence.
"Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly expressed his opinion on this issue. For example, during a visit to a mosque in Agdam on November 23, he said that all historical monuments in the country are protected by the state, including Armenian, Albanian and Orthodox churches and monasteries in the territories that have come under the control of Azerbaijan. On November 25, in a televised address to the people on the occasion of the liberation of the Kelbajar region, Aliyev reiterated that Christian shrines are the historical and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan, which is under its state protection, "the Russian diplomat said in an interview with TASS.
According to the ambassador, these are the most recent examples. "These statements were preceded by a telephone conversation between Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin on November 14, during which the President of Azerbaijan guaranteed the safety and normal functioning of Christian shrines in the territories, which, in accordance with the trilateral statement, are transferred to Azerbaijan. I am sure that this will be so in practice. We know Azerbaijan as a multinational and multi-confessional state, where the rights and freedoms of representatives of different peoples and followers of many religions are equally ensured, "he added.
To note, Russia has already called on UNESCO and other organizations working in the field of ensuring the protection and preservation of cultural, historical and religious heritage to expand their activities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Moreover, it became known that Russian President Vladimir Putin took Dadivank, ( an Armenian monastery IX-XIII centuries half a kilometer north of the Tartar River in Nagorno-Karabakh), which came under the control of Azerbaijan, and the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral of Shushi ( Holy Savior Cathedral) under his protection.