Representatives of Azerbaijani NGOs held a protest action on Friday near the monument to Armenian-Turkish friendship in the city of Kars, Turkey.

The protest was initiated by Azerbaijani International Diaspora Center, 1news.az website reports referring to Turkish media.

Head of the center Ismail Agayev said “such an ugly monument” must not stand in the territory of Turkey. Protestors also laid a black wreath at the monument.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported previously, City Council of Kars decided by a majority vote to demolish the monument dedicated to the Armenian-Turkish friendship, branded by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as “monstrous”.

The monument was built on the initiative of former Kars mayor Naif Alibeyoglu.

Alibeyoglu once said the decision on removing the monument was made at the Azeri President Ilham Aliyev’s request. “Turkey has an oil and gas dependence on Azerbaijan. This is the only reason for demolition,” he emphasized.