Russia hopes that UNESCO experts will soon arrive in Nagorno-Karabakh to assess the safety of Christian and Muslim holy sites, Maria Zakharova, the director of the Department of Information and Press of the Russian Foreign Ministry, made the statement at a briefing on Thursday.
"We expect that the mission, which was prepared in cooperation with the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides with the participation of reputable international NGOs - partners of UNESCO in the field of protection and preservation of monuments, will soon arrive at the site and give an objective assessment of the situation," the diplomat noted.
The official representative of the diplomatic mission underlined that Moscow supports the intention of UNESCO Director-General Odre Azule to send experts of this organization to Nagorno-Karabakh, which was confirmed during a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on November 20. According to Zakharova, UNESCO experts will be able to give "answers to all questions in the sphere of everything that concerns the preservation and condition of Christian and Muslim shrines in the region".
Special attention during the conversation between Lavrov and Azule was paid to the possibilities of using the potential of UNESCO to assist in settling the humanitarian situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, particularly in the field of protection and preservation of cultural monuments and religious sites affected by the hostilities and acts of vandalism, as well as in the field of restoration of the educational system in the region.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS