in Russian – https://aga-tribunal.info/karakhanyan-14-10-2021/

in Armenian – https://aga-tribunal.info/hy/karakhanyan-14-10-2021-hy/

Source: Armenpress, October 14, 2021 Translated by AGA-Tribunal.info.

Azerbaijan does not even value its culture, this country did not agree to exchange the paintings of Azerbaijani artists who remained on the Armenian side after the first Artsakh war for Armenian cultural values remaining in the occupied territories.

Artsakh Republic Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Lusine Karakhanyan stated this during a working discussion “Protection of the Armenian historical, cultural and spiritual heritage of the Artsakh Republic in the regions under the control of Azerbaijan” in the National Assembly of Armenia.

“It hurts me that 2,000 monuments, 122 churches, 13 monasteries, 52 castles, 536 khachkars are left in the occupied territories. Azerbaijanis have 20,885 museum exhibits, 617,000 books and other literature,” the minister said.

She stressed that these are not only Armenian historical-architectural, historical-cultural monuments, but also the heritage of mankind, a cultural heritage that is occupied. Azokh cave, Tigranakert and Artsakh as a whole are the legacy of civilization.

“Through intensive daily work with Russian peacekeepers, we tried to return the property hidden in bomb shelters immediately after November 17. We also tried the exchange mechanism. We have works by Azerbaijani artists that we have kept since the first Artsakh war. But they do not value their culture, they did not agree to this exchange, the works of Azerbaijani artists remain with us. In other words, the exchange mechanism did not work,” said Karakhanyan.

She stressed that the Armenian side is dealing with extremely aggressive neighbors, with whom it is extremely difficult to communicate.