Azerbaijani analysts treat graffiti on Armenian church in Shusha as "war consequences"

There are no insults to Armenians and the church in the graffiti on the church in Shusha; they are easy to wash off, said Fazil Mustafa, a deputy chairman of the Azerbaijani parliamentary committee for culture. Togrul Djuvarly, a member of the Azerbaijani Public Committee for European Integration, has compared graffiti with the inscriptions on the Reichstag in 1945.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that vandalism had become a key topic of mutual Armenian-Azerbaijani accusations. The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) claimed a purposeful destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh. In its turn, Baku accused Yerevan of desecrating Muslim cemeteries and mosques.

The graffiti on the Armenian church in Shusha cannot be treated as vandalism, all the more as deliberate one, Fazil Mustafa believes.

"There are graffiti indicating Azerbaijani dwelling settlements. We can guess that they were written by soldiers from these areas, who expressed their feelings about their stay in Shusha – the city that is too dear to every resident of Azerbaijan due to its special role in the history and culture of the nation," Mr Mustafa has stated, noting that over the 27 years that the territories of Azerbaijan were under Armenia's control, colossal damage was inflicted to many monuments located here.

Togrul Djuvarly, a member of the Azerbaijani National Public Committee for European Integration, also does not treat the graffiti on the church in Shusha as vandalism. He is sure that all the Armenian churches and other religious objects will be taken under the protection of the state, and the damaged ones will be restored.