Perendzhiev:Yerevan must to be held accountable for cultural property theft

The Armenians encroach on the Azerbaijani culture because, although they talk about their ancient history, they fail to find justification and proof, Political scientist Alexander Perendzhiev told the Russian bureau of Report, commenting on the exhibition of carpets in Yerevan stolen from the Shusha Carpet Museum.

"All this is an Armenian remake. Therefore, they steal other people’s cultural values, passing them off as their own. Unfortunately, the Armenians act in this way," he noted.

The expert called such actions of the Armenian side wrong, first of all, from the point of view of moral and ethical values.

"This can be compared with the fact that the Nazis took out historical exhibits from the USSR and presented them as their own in Germany. Therefore, holding exhibitions of cultural artifacts, which in fact were stolen, violates the norms of any cultural activity," he added.

Perendzhiev believes that Yerevan should be condemned not only by UNESCO.

"Azerbaijan has the right to appeal to international judicial bodies to bring the Armenian side to justice for such acts. All artifacts should be returned to where they were taken from. It is a crime when what is stolen is shown as some kind of cultural heritage," he said.

The expert also noted that Azerbaijan has to actively resist the fact that Yerevan misappropriates its cultural heritage and values. He said that this could be called a thieves’ culture.