It is ironic that Simon Maghakyan (Palmyra and Unesco’s approach to heritage, Letters, 27 August) writes in defence of the importance of the preservation of cultural heritage and condemns my country. Over the course of the armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, it is not Azerbaijan but Armenia that has now turned into a monoethnic country – a rare example in this part of the world – and has pursued a policy of transforming into a monoculture society by wiping out the centuries-old cultural and historical heritage of its ethnic Azerbaijani population.

Furthermore, Armenia has continued the same policy in the occupied Azerbaijani territories of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions, in a more violent and destructive nature. George Mitchell, the British travel writer, who visited the occupied territories in November 2014, calls Agdam, an occupied Azerbaijani town, “a ghost town” and “Hiroshima of the Caucasus” and reports on the total devastation of nature and heritage all around.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly called for a comprehensive international fact-finding mission to find out the situation regarding the preservation of cultural heritage in the occupied territories, Armenia has declined to allow this mission to carry out its work.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe fact-finding missions in 2005 and 2010 have reported on the destruction of cultural heritage in occupied territories of Azerbaijan. That includes looting of museums, destruction of monuments of historical, cultural and religious significance, attempts at changing the facts on the ground. The sole aim of this policy, which continues to this day, is to rewrite the history of the occupied regions on the basis of falsified sources.

In Azerbaijan we take pride in our respect for the history and culture of all ethnic and religious minorities. The best example is the Armenian church that stands in the central square of Baku. However, it is unfortunate that almost all Azerbaijani monuments in Armenia itself and the occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven regions have been wiped out by Armenia.

Tahir Taghizadeh

Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan in London

• The destruction of world cultural heritage, including in Palmyra, is a tremendous loss for humanity (Report, 25 August). The international community cannot tolerate such barbaric acts and the perpetrators of these acts must be brought to justice. In this sense, Unesco’s mission and initiatives must not be underestimated. The recent launch of the Unite4Hertiage global campaign is a vivid example to this end.

To clarify some issues raised by Simon Maghakyan, as a nation suffering from the tragic consequences of the occupation of its territories, the protection of cultural heritage is always significant and sensitive issue for Azerbaijan. The accusation concerning the destruction of the Julfa cemetery is another attempt to mislead the international community from the aggravated facts of “cultural cleansing” carried out in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, cultural and religious heritage representing the very richness of Azerbaijani culture have been savagely damaged and ruined by Armenia not only within the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the seven surrounding districts but also within the territory of Armenia itself. The destruction of the ancient Aga-Dede mosque and cemetery in the Masis region of Armenia is one of the many examples of cultural terrorism against the Azerbaijani population.

The government of Azerbaijan brought these issues to the attention of relevant international organisations, including Unesco, and requested monitoring missions through relevant institutional mechanisms. Despite all the efforts, due to the negative position of Armenia, which tried by all means to block this initiative, the missions were failed.

Azerbaijan strongly supports Unesco’s global mission and activities for promotion of dialogue and rapprochement of cultures.

Anar Karimov

Ambassador, permanent delegate of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Unesco