We welcome the joint statement of the Council for the Protection of Monuments and Cultural Heritage, the International Council on Archives, the International Council of Museums, the International Federation of Library Circles and Institutions on the situation in Karabakh.

Axar.az reports that the statement came from Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on the protection of cultural, historical and religious heritage in Karabakh.

Zakharova said that UNESCO's influential NGO partners called on all parties to the ceasefire to actively ensure the protection of all cultural, historical, architectural and religious heritage sites, including the provisions of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Monuments.