Vahram Dumanyan reaffirmed Armenia`s full support for fulfillment of  UNESCO mission in Karabakh conflict zone

ArmInfo. Within the framework of his visit to Paris to participate in the event dedicated  to the 100th anniversary of the celebrated French- Armenian filmmaker  Henri Verneuil, RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports  Vahram Dumanyan met with UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay .   According to the press service of the department, a number of issues  of mutual interest were discussed during the meeting.

"I am sure that our mutually beneficial cooperation with UNESCO in  various fields will continue to expand and will contribute to the  implementation of new initiatives and ideas," Dumanyan said.  The  parties touched upon cooperation in the field of protection of the  cultural heritage of the Republic of Artsakh, a visit of the UNESCO  technical mission to Artsakh and adjacent territories. Vahram  Dumanyan confirmed Armenia's full support for the fulfillment of the  mission and thanked for giving due attention to this issue.

During the meeting, they also discussed cooperation in the framework  of the "Reviving the Spirit of Mosul" initiative, as well as the  protection and preservation of cultural heritage, especially in areas  affected by the conflict. The Minister noted that a delegation of  experts on the restoration of ancient manuscripts of Mosul, headed by  Archbishop of Chaldean Church Mikhael Najib, visited Armenia last  week, and expressed the hope that through the exchange of experience,  he would contribute to the important work on the preservation of  world culture.  To note, back in December 2020, the UNESCO Deputy  Director General for Culture said that Azerbaijan did not consent to  the direction of the mission. The cultural and religious heritage of  Artsakh, which is under threat of destruction, needs urgent attention  of the international community in order to properly ensure its  preservation and prevent cases of vandalism.  Armenia has repeatedly  declared its interest in the visit of UNESCO mission as soon as  possible.  At the same time, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, at a  meeting with the newly appointed UN Resident Coordinator Vladanka  Andreeva, tried to shift the responsibility for not allowing the  UNESCO mission to the region to Armenia. According to him, it is  Armenia that creates obstacles for the admission of experts to the  region.  It is noteworthy that on November 20, 2020, UNESCO Director  General Audrey Azoulay announced the organization's readiness to send  a mission to Karabakh to help restore the cultural and historical  heritage of the region. And already in December last year, Assistant  Director-General for Education, of UNESCO Ernesto Renato Ottone noted  that the organization "so far expects only a response from  Azerbaijan, so that UNESCO can continue to work with the direction of  the mission in the field." In turn, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry,  in a communique circulated on December 22, called on UNESCO not to  politicize the issue of protecting cultural heritage in Karabakh and  said that Baku "is open to a constructive dialogue to discuss the  details of organizing the mission."

The Russian Foreign Ministry has also repeatedly stated that Moscow  is counting on the visit of a UNESCO mission to Nagorno-Karabakh in  the near future. However, the issue is deliberately dragged out by  the Azerbaijani side, and against this background, acts of vandalism  are being committed in the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh, which are  under the control of Azerbaijan, and Armenian cultural and historical  monuments are being destroyed.