“Misappropriation of the Azerbaijani material and cultural monuments by Armenia contradicts international humanitarian law, especially the Geneva Convention,” said spokesperson of Azerbaijan`s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hikmat Hajiyev as he commented on Armenian FM Edward Nalbandian`s visiting Azerbaijan`s occupied Kalbajar district and attending the Gandzasar777 religious ceremony there.

“This is yet another example of Armenia’s falsifying historical and religious facts using political pretexts. We would like to remind the Armenian FM that the original name of this Alban church located in Kalbajar, an Azerbaijani district occupied by the Armenian armed forces, is not Gandzasar, but Ganjasar. This Alban monument has nothing to do with the Armenian Gregorian church. Azerbaijani and foreign historians have proven this fact by substantial facts,” Hajiyev said.

“The Armenian foreign minister’s attending in such a ceremony shows that Armenia is not interested in the negotiated resolution of the conflict and aims to perpetuate the status quo and deliberately pursues the policy of annexing the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region and other surrounding districts of Azerbaijan,” Hajiyev added.