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he Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, received the representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan to the Organization. As the Organization said in a released statement, the Director-General reaffirmed the universal dimension of cultural heritage, as a witness to history and as inseparable from the identity of peoples, which the international community has a duty to protect and preserve for future generations, beyond the conflicts of the moment. The Director-General next reiterated her appeal of 9 October for the protection of heritage in this region and the absolute necessity of preventing any further damage.

"During these meetings, the Director-General formally proposed the technical support of UNESCO, who have been unable to visit these zones to date despite past attempts, and who could, with the agreement of all concerned parties, carry out a preliminary field mission, in order to draw up an inventory of the most significant cultural assets, as a prerequisite for effective protection of the region's heritage.

With this in mind, UNESCO will work with all interested partners to create the conditions for such a mission. High-level consultations have begun with the States co-chairing the Minsk Group," the statement said.