Azerbaijan to Submit Proposals to UNESCO on Monitoring Mission in Liberated Territories

Baku/08.01.21/Turan: UNESCO's unfounded accusations against Azerbaijan cast doubt on the impartiality of the organization, Minister of Culture Anar Kerimov said at an online meeting with the UNDP Resident Representative Gulam Iskhagzai.

 According to Kerimov, the recent statements by UNESCO representatives regarding the sending of a mission to the territories liberated from the Armenian occupation caused disappointment on the Azerbaijani side. For UNESCO was informed of the importance of addressing early security issues in the liberated territories and the ongoing demining process.

On the other hand, over the past 30 years, Azerbaijan repeatedly applied to UNESCO in connection with the monitoring of the cultural heritage in the occupied territories. However, these appeals remained unanswered. Not a single call was made by UNESCO to Armenia in connection with the desire to carry out such a mission.

The current statements of UNESCO, where the organization unreasonably accuses Azerbaijan, cast doubt on its impartiality and compliance of its given position with the organization's charter, Kerimov said.

Iskhagzai, in turn, said he maintains contacts with UNESCO and asked to clarify the position of the Azerbaijani side regarding the upcoming mission.

Kerimov stressed that the Azerbaijani side is interested in sending a UNESCO monitoring mission to these territories, but this should be based on respect for the country's territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of borders, as well as other principles of international law.

The Azerbaijani side has prepared its proposals on the draft document covering the parameters of the mission, which will soon be submitted to the organization's secretariat.  —05D06-