According to Lernik Hovhannisyan, Chairman of the Diocesan Council of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Azerbaijan’s policy toward Artsakh’s Armenian historical and cultural heritage is being encouraged by certain circles within the international community.

He addressed the visit of foreign diplomats to Artsakh, emphasizing that what occurred at Gandzasar was yet another manifestation of the distortion of Armenian history and culture.

Hovhannisyan noted that for decades Azerbaijan has attempted to portray Armenian cultural heritage as “Caucasian Albanian,” while simultaneously destroying or altering Armenian inscriptions and monuments.