Azerbaijan destroys mural inside Artsakh Foreign Ministry

The Artsakh Tourism and Culture Development Agency has reported the destruction of a mural located inside the Artsakh Foreign Ministry building.

“Today, we make public the fact that during the demolition of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building of the Republic of Artsakh, which was included in the list of historical and cultural monuments, the Azerbaijani occupation administration in Stepanakert destroyed a mural painted on the building’s interior wall by the talented artist and sculptor Arnold Meliksetyan,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The agency emphasized that the demolition carried out deliberately on Artsakh’s Independence Day was aimed not only at erasing symbols of statehood, but also served as another example of Azerbaijan’s ongoing policy of destroying, distorting and appropriating Artsakh’s cultural heritage.

“We emphasize that responsibility for this act of vandalism lies not only with Azerbaijan, but also with the international community, which through its silence and inaction effectively encourages cultural genocide. Equally concerning is the inaction of the Armenian authorities, who had an obligation to defend the rights of their citizens and the cultural heritage of Artsakh on international platforms.

“The destruction of Arnold Meliksetyan’s mural is not only a loss of an important work of art, but also part of a broader policy of erasing the memory and identity of the Armenians of Artsakh,” reads the statement.