Archbishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan, leader of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church,

Father Garegin Hambardzumyan, a congregation member of the Mother See,

Dear co-chairs of the organizing committee of the conference, members, participants and attendees,

First of all, I want to express special gratitude to Timur Aitiberov and Vladimir Besolov for being on this holy land.

We welcome you all to the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh and highlight the initiation and organization of the international conference "Dangers of protecting and preserving the spiritual and cultural heritage of Artsakh".

Dear attendees,

Today, Artsakh faces not only the dangers of destruction of cultural heritage but also stands in front of ontological threats.

It's the obvious truth that from the moment of its formation (1918) Azerbaijan pursued an anti-Armenian state policy, the basis of which was and remains the destruction of the Armenian identity and cultural values.

Ever since the 1920s, there have been cases of deliberate and undisguised irreversible damage to the Armenian cultural and spiritual heritage by Azerbaijan. There are documented cases of destruction and misappropriation of its foundation, which set a precedent for the historical monuments of Armenian cultural and spiritual heritage in the territories that came under the control of Azerbaijan during the autumn war of 2020 and in the following months, atrocities against the works of art and places of worship, as well as the memorials of the victims of the Great Patriotic War and the 1st Artsakh War.

The statements made by Azerbaijan at the highest state level about renovating the Armenian apostolic churches with the long-term goal of Albanianization and eliminating the Armenian inscriptions are also reprehensible.

It is obvious that the goal of Azerbaijan's aggressive campaign is the destruction of Armenian historical memory and cultural potential and the usurpation of Armenian cultural and spiritual heritage.

The relevant departments of the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia have repeatedly warned about cases of systematic and intentional destruction of Armenian spiritual and material heritage, appropriation of Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage by Azerbaijan.

We are sure that as a result of these alarms, the international community and international structures are sufficiently informed about what happened. Even during the bloody autumn of 2020, Azerbaijan's targeting of the cultural heritage of the Republic of Artsakh received appropriate condemnation from the international community.

In this context, we greatly value the concerns of the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France, and the United States, regarding the future fate of the Armenian cultural and spiritual heritage in Artsakh, their readiness to provide practical support, and the statements about the importance of involving international specialized structures. We especially emphasize the Russian attitude towards this issue and the practical steps taken.

We greatly appreciate the statements made at the highest level to share the universal responsibility for solving this humanitarian problem.

We reaffirm our readiness to support the implementation of UNESCO's fact-finding mission in Artsakh and neighboring regions as soon as possible.

The rich cultural and spiritual heritage of Artsakh is an integral part of the world cultural and spiritual heritage. Therefore, the destruction of cultural and spiritual heritage by Azerbaijan with criminal intent is a challenge to all civilized humanity.

We consider the means of the international community to condemn the manifestations of intolerance against the Armenian cultural and spiritual heritage in Artsakh and draw the attention of the international community and structures as the only mechanism to prevent the further destruction of the Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage threatened in the occupied territories of Artsakh as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh.

We expect preventive actions within the framework of relevant legal norms of international law.

We call for immediate, effective and continuous steps to be taken in the development of effective mechanisms to contribute to the fulfillment of international legal obligations assumed by Azerbaijan in the direction of preserving the cultural heritage of other peoples.

Settlement of the conflict, lasting and stable peace in the region is impossible without the preservation of the Armenian cultural and spiritual heritage in the territories occupied by Azerbaijan and actually under the control of Azerbaijan including organizing monitoring by all possible means to prevent actions carried out for the purpose of ethnic cleansing of Armenians.

Dear participants of the conference

Living in its sacred land, our people prove to the world that Artsakh exists and lives, fighting for the rights to live in its country, as well as for the preservation and protection of cultural heritage.

Greeting the participants of the conference again, I wish them productive and fruitful work.

Thank you.