Foreign Ministry spokesman Vahan Hunanyan commented on the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture statement, saying that it is a priority to implement the fact-finding mission in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone proposed by UNESCO Secretary-General Audrey Azoulay after the 44-day war.

"Armenia supports the early implementation of this mission in accordance with the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two protocols," Hunanyan said.

The need for immediate implementation of a UNESCO fact-finding mission has arisen to protect Armenian cultural and religious heritage from the imminent danger of destruction in territories that have come under Azerbaijani control as a result of war.

"Already noted cases of vandalism against Armenian monuments, as well as the announcement by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture of the creation of a working group aimed at distorting the identity of Armenian historical and cultural heritage, indicate that such a danger is more than real.

We consider the proposal for a UNESCO delegation to visit Yerevan and Baku solely within the framework of the above-mentioned mission proposed by the UNESCO Secretary-General," Foreign Ministry spokesman said.