YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The Council of Churches in the Netherlands condemns the destruction of cultural and religious heritage.

The military operations in the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact and the further developments remain under the spotlight of several structures and public circles of the Netherlands. The October 8 targeting and bombardment of the St. Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Artsakh by the Azerbaijani armed forces have greatly worried the Council of Churches in the Netherlands.

In this context the Council made a statement, briefly presenting the history of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, as well as the ongoing developments, condemned the attempts to destruct the cultural and religious heritage and expressed support to the calls of the United Nations and the World Council of Churches on ceasing the hostilities and returning to the peaceful negotiations.

“War has flared up again around Nagorno Karabakh. The conflict around Nagorno Karabakh, where the majority of the population is Christian and of Armenian descent, and Azerbaijan, where the majority are Muslim, has been dragging on for decades. During the Soviet era, Nagorno Karabakh was assigned to Azerbaijan. After the fall of the Soviet Union, it declared itself independent. As a result, the conflict about this flared up in 1991. In addition, 30,000 people died and a million people were expelled.

The most severe escalation since 2016 has been taking place since September, with many civilian casualties. Holy Savior Cathedral in the city of Shushi was also badly damaged in one of those bombings.

It is worrying that Turkey is also getting involved in the fight. Turkey in particular supports Azerbaijan, reportedly also with troops and military equipment. Also worrying is that Azerbaijan has previously threatened to bomb a nuclear power plant in Armenia. This could cause a nuclear disaster with disastrous consequences in this region of the Caucasus.

Both the United Nations and the European Union are urging both countries to cease armed struggle and open peace talks. Russia could play a mediating role here between Armenia and Azerbaijan / Turkey.

The World Council of Churches also urges an end to hostilities and peace negotiations begin, if possible with the support of the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE). As the Council of Churches, we support these international calls for a ceasefire and negotiations. We also condemn the destruction of cultural and religious heritage”, the statement says.