On December 8, on the margins of the working visit to France, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Aivazian met with the Director General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay.

The interlocutors highly commended the traditionally close cooperation established between Armenia and the UNESCO, expressing willingness to continue undertaking steps towards the realization of the objectives of the organization in the same spirit.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Director-General touched upon the situation in the region following the Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh. The Director-General of UNESCO expressed her deepest condolences on the human casualties.

Foreign Minister Aivazian drew the attention of Director-General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay to the outrageous manifestations of intolerance towards the Armenian cultural and religious monuments of Artsakh occupied by Azerbaijan. According to Minister Aivazian the deliberate destruction of the Armenian historical-cultural heritage by Azerbaijan, the attempts to desecrate or falsify their identity are a clear violation of the norms of international law, contradict the values ​​of civilization, and are therefore strongly condemnable.

Minister Aivazian noted that to prevent a new cultural genocide by Azerbaijan there is a need of quick response of the international organizations in order to hold the perpetrators accountable, as well as to fully prevent such actions. In this regard, the interlocutors exchanged views on the implementation of the proposal of the Director-General of UNESCO of sending a mission to the region.