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Azerbaijan has stepped up efforts to misappropriate Armenian culture as part of its false “Western Azerbaijan” narrative, the Artsakh Monument Watch reports.

Baku’s National Museum of Arts opened the exhibition "Western Azerbaijan in our Cultural Memory" on December 15.

Using the fictitious name " Western Azerbaijan", Baku tries to present the history of Yerevan in the light of decorative art, photographs, falsification of historical documents and newly created Azerbaijani identity.

At the core of the exhibition are the photos depicting the palace of the Persian khans of Yerevan, objects originating from the Yerevan fortress, as well as numerous monuments that are misattributed to the culture of "Western Azerbaijan".

“One of such events was the festival called "Return to Western Azerbaijan" held in Nakhichevan on November 23-24, which was preceded by a congress on "The Road Leading to Western Azerbaijan". The poster of the festival features the political map of Armenia and the display of various photos and decorative art objects at the festival is yet another attempt to recreate the map of Armenia using fictitious names of towns and villages,” the watchdog said.

Within the framework of the festival, many Armenian and regional cultural manifestations were portrayed as Azerbaijani ones, including folklore samples, book exhibition, stands with samples of culinary and material culture, concert programs, films, literature, scientific research, collections of articles and photo series dedicated to "Western Azerbaijan". A wide variety of dishes were also showcased during the festival under the name "Irevan cuisine".