Armenian Church declares desecration of cathedral in Shushi

The Kazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi was desecrated after the city was captured by Azerbaijani troops, the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) has claimed. The Armenian Ministry of Culture has treated the incident as vandalism and called on international organizations to protect cultural monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 10, an agreement between Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia on the cessation of the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh came into force. According to the agreement, Azerbaijan takes over the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh captured during the hostilities and gets the so-called "Security Belt", that is, returns the territories of five districts adjacent to Karabakh.

The AAC has accused Azerbaijan of the policy of "cultural genocide." "The Azerbaijanis who invaded Shushi have desecrated the temple of the Kazanchetsots Holy Christ the All-Saviour. We strongly condemn what happened, treating it as open vandalism and manifestation of intolerance," reads the statement posted in the AAC's Facebook page.

The publication is accompanied by a photo of the temple in Shushi, on the walls of which one can see graffiti in the Azerbaijani language.

The UNESCO and other international organizations engaged in the protection of cultural property should "immediately prevent cultural vandalism," the Armenian Ministry of Science, Education, Culture and Sports has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 14, 2020 at 11:03 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.