ArmInfo.The US Commission for the International Defense of Religious Freedom (USCIRF) criticized Azerbaijan's plans to destroy the Armenian religious and cultural heritage in the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh that came under Azerbaijani control.
"We are deeply concerned by Azerbaijan's plans to remove Armenian Apostolic inscriptions from churches. We urge the government to preserve and protect places of worship and other religious and cultural sites," USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza said in response to a Feb. 3 statement by Azerbaijani Culture Minister Anar Kerimov. The latter, in particular, stated that the so-called working group, consisting of "Albanian" historians and architects, has already been formed in the AR, "the task of which will be to remove false Armenian traces" from supposedly "Albanian" architectural monuments in the territories of Nagorno- Karabakh that have come under Azerbaijani control.