What is happening in Shushi is none other than cultural genocide, cultural terrorism and cultural Nazism. This is what Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Davit Babayan said, commenting, at the request of Armenian News-NEWS.am, on the destruction of the domes of the Ghazanchetstots Holy Savior Cathedral in Shushi by the Azerbaijanis.

“With this, the Azerbaijani authorities are actually trying to deal and are dealing a tangible blow to Armenians’ historical memory and pride, but we Armenians need to resist this and will resist it. It is necessary to understand that what is happening at Ghazanchetsots now might be for tactical purposes. By making an assault against Ghazanchetsots and destroying the angel statues and crosses, Azerbaijan is specifically calling attention to this and pursuing a few goals. The first is to deal a blow to Armenians’ identity, pride and self-love. The second is to pave a way for the country by distracting our attention from what is going on in the seized territories. It is also likely that Azerbaijan is trying to distract attention from humanitarian issues, as well as the issues of the prisoners of war, hostages and other issues. We have certain fears that the Azerbaijanis are dealing with the sale of organs there.

We have conveyed our position and concerns to many circles. Perhaps the Azerbaijanis felt that it crimes may be investigated and have decided to make an attack to distract attention and focus on Ghazanchetsots. They are mocking international law, the international community and “solving” their issues.

We Armenians need to realize that all of our victories and defeats depend on us. As for the Azerbaijanis, I would like to remind them that those who destroy the house of God won’t go unpunished, but that’s a different story,” Babayan concluded.