RA MoESCS refutes Azerbaijan’s yet another falsification of historical facts

The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia (RA MoESCS) officially denied reports on various media platforms of Azerbaijan about alleged attempts to erase the “Albanian trace” from cultural monuments in the Tavush region.

The Ministry noted that articles appeared on various media platforms in Azerbaijan stating that the work on the restoration, strengthening, and repair of monuments of Armenian history and culture in the areas where the border with Azerbaijan is being delimited is aimed at eradicating the “Albanian trace”.

“This information is an obvious lie, another manifestation of Azerbaijan’s manipulative policy aimed at falsifying historical facts. In particular, the Armenian church in the Tavush village of Kirants (the villagers call it the Holy Trinity) was built in the 19th century from local rough-hewn stone and is a triple-nave Armenian basilica church. There is an inscription on it (1888 ամի) indicating the date of construction, which proves that this is an Armenian church. During the Soviet period, the church was used as a warehouse. In 2024, funded by the Cabinet of Ministers, work will be carried out to strengthen and restore the building.

The Holy Mother of God Church in the village of Voskepar in the Tavush region was built in the 7th century. It belongs to the buildings of early medieval Armenian architecture. In 1975–1977, the church was restored, but later the dome was damaged due to precipitation and dampness. The church will also be renovated in 2024.

The early Christian temple in the village of Yereruyk in the Shirak region, which is presented as a ‘Turkic’ structure, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List and the Europa Nostra list, which includes monuments that are under the greatest threat.
The restoration of the church is carried out with the funds of the RA MoESCS and the US Embassy.

We urge Azerbaijan not to falsify historical facts, to ensure the preservation of the Armenian heritage under Baku’s control, as well as to allow international monitoring missions to visit Nagorno-Karabakh,” the ministry said in a statement.