The Armenian Foreign Ministry welcomes and highly appreciates the almost unanimous adoption of the resolution on the destruction of the cultural heritage in Artsakh, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan said.
His remarks came during a conversation with Armenpress. According to him, this decision demonstrates the strong stance of Armenia's partners represented in the European Parliament.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh after discussions on Thursday.
The document was supported by 635 deputies, 2 voted against it, and 12 more abstained. The resolution condemns the destruction of the cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh and calls for its immediate protection; stresses the universality of cultural heritage as testimony of history, inseparable from the identity of peoples, which the international community has a duty to protect and preserve for future generations; recalls that historical revisionism, defacement and destruction of cultural or religious heritage contradict the judgment of the International Court of Justice of 7 December 2021, as well as the European Parliament resolution of 21 May 2021.
The resolution calls on the EU, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the OSCE to jointly promote and support efforts to safeguard cultural and religious heritage; calls on the EU and member states to continue to support the work of international organizations aimed at protecting cultural and religious heritage; calls on the Commission to use all available levers to prevent acts of vandalism, destruction or alteration of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh.