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The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin on Tuesday denounced Azerbaijan’s plans to erase Armenian inscriptions from churches in areas in and around Artsakh, that fell under Baku’s control as a result of the 2020 war. 

On behalf of the Azerbaijani authorities, the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan released a statement related to another anti-Armenian initiative on February 3.

According to the statement, a “working group of Caucasian Albanian historians and architects” consisting of local and foreign specialists, has been formed in Azerbaijan, with the aim of removing the “false traces left by Armenians” from the Caucasian Albanian religious temples.

“The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin strongly condemns this initiative of the Azerbaijani authorities, calling it an anti-human and anti-civilization act, with continuing manifestations of hostility and hatred towards Armenia, Artsakh and the Armenian people,” the church said in a statement.

“The Armenian identity of the Christian sanctuaries of Artsakh, which are under the control of Azerbaijan, is a scientifically proven fact and cannot be disputed within the framework of reasonable and objective thinking.

“The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin appeals to all the countries involved in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, first of all, to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries, Sister Churches and religious structures, to international specialized organizations; to strongly respond to this open fact of cultural genocide committed by Azerbaijan, to stop and prevent these and similar kinds of manifestations of vandalism,” reads the statement.