"With the liberation of the territories of Azerbaijan occupied for almost 30 years, our country has begun the process of restoration and reconstruction of these territories," Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan said responding to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia on the restoration work carried out by Azerbaijan in Shusha.
Report informs that, according to the Ministry, at present, huge reconstruction works are being carried out in these territories, including the restoration of Azerbaijan's historical, cultural and religious heritage, which was destroyed during the decades-long Armenian occupation.
"Mosques, historical monuments, mausoleums, house-museums, as well as the Gazanchi Church are being restored in the frame of large-scale reconstruction work in Shusha. We would like to note that, this reconstruction is carried out in accordance with the original architectural style in order to restore the historical image of Shusha.
"At the same time, we would like to emphasize that the discovery of the remains of the “Iskander-M” rocket 200 meters from the Gazanchi Church in Shusha and, fortunately, the fact that this tragedy did not happen, showed that Armenia is ready to destroy the entire city, including the church it “values”.
"We remind the Armenian Foreign Ministry that unlike Armenia, which held the territories of the neighboring country under illegal occupation for decades, every monument, building, and stone in its territory is so valuable for Azerbaijan that liberated its lands; their reconstruction and protection are important at the state level.
"As for Armenia, the atrocities committed by this country in the territories of Azerbaijan are obvious. Armenia has systematically and deliberately destroyed or altered the nature of the cultural and historical heritage in these areas, annihilated the museum-owned manuscripts and other valuable exhibits or put them up for sale in black markets by stealing them, looted the valuable art of Azerbaijani carpet weaving, and hundreds of cultural institutions, 927 libraries with a book fund of 4.6 million, 22 museums and museum branches with more than 100,000 exhibits, 4 art galleries, 8 culture, and recreation parks, as well as one of the oldest settlements in the world in Fuzuli district - Azykh Cave, Shusha State Historical and Architectural Reserve has become a victim of Armenian vandalism.
"A country that has caused all these atrocities and violations of international obligations has no moral or legal basis to comment on the reconstruction work carried out by Azerbaijan on its territory.
"Today, Azerbaijan is eliminating the grave consequences of Armenia’s aggression policy and vandalism, so in this case, it would be more correct for the Armenian Foreign Ministry to make an apology statement, rather than baseless allegations," the ministry said.