Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of Azerbaijan has taken steps to erase its Armenian cultural heritage by destroying churches, cross-stones, and tombstones in Nakhichevan; what assessment they have made of implications of that erasure on the current situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region; and what representations they intend to make to the government of Azerbaijan about the reported destruction of such cultural and religious sites.

The protection of cultural heritage affected by conflict and the prevention of acts of destruction is a priority for this Government. While we have not made an assessment of allegations relating to Armenian historical structures in Nakhichevan or the implications of this on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, we raised the importance of ensuring protection of cultural heritage in a meeting on 17 November between the British Ambassador to Azerbaijan and representatives of the Presidential Administration. We will continue to raise the importance of protecting cultural heritage with the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the coming months.