Secretary General of the Council of Europe believes that destruction of historical monuments on the occupied territory of Azerbaijan is a “blow to Europe and the entire world”. “Destruction of historical monuments on the occupied territory of Azerbaijan is a blow not only to Azerbaijan but also Europe and the entire world,” CE Secretary General Terry Davis said in Baku on 2 December.
CE Secretary General regretted delaying of a visit of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Mission on Culture, Cultural and Natural Heritage to Azerbaijan and Armenia. Azerbaijan requested PACE to send the cultural heritage mission to the occupied territory to examine the remaining in these regions historical and cultural monuments of the country.
The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful negotiations. “Both sides have differences in this regard,” said Davis. The Council of Europe wants the mission to take note of the state of the historical and cultural monuments.
“Azerbaijan wants the PACE cultural heritage mission to visit the occupied territory via Azerbaijan, as it is an integral part of the country,” Azerbaijani Minister for Culture and Tourism Abulfaz Garayev said earlier to journalists.
Official Baku wants the mission to preserve its permanent composition and arrive simultaneously. That is an indispensable condition of Azerbaijan, said the Minister.
Azerbaijan has already submitted to the mission its list of the monuments which have been destroyed. “Armenia offers a different list. There is no fact of destruction of Armenian monuments on the territory of Azerbaijan. We argue that both lists must be examined,” said the minister.
CE Secretary General also regretted at the non-participation of Armenia in the Baku Conference of Culture Ministers of European countries, which began on 2 December. “I very much regret that the delegation of the Armenian Ministry of Culture refused to participate in the conference. They missed a chance to dialogue with Azerbaijan. Dialogue in the region is very important. Dialogue between presidents is important, but there is a need for dialogue among peoples,” he said.