Baku explains dismantling of temple dome in Shusha by restoration works

Restoration is underway in the Church of the Holy Christ the All-Saviour in Shusha in order to restore its historical appearance, the Azerbaijani authorities have claimed. The MPs from the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia had treated the dome dismantling as an attempt to eradicate the Armenian appearance of the city.

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has stated that the Gazanchi Church (the Azerbaijani name of Kazanchetsots), damaged during the autumn aggravation of the Karabakh conflict, is being restored "in its original form."

A source from the Azerbaijani government has added that the architectural appearance of the church had earlier been changed by the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Togrul Djuvarly, a member of the Azerbaijani National Public Committee for European Integration, believes that after the restoration the mission of the temple will not change. He treats the assertions that Shusha may lose its "Armenian appearance" as untenable.

Ararat Mirzoyan, Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, has stated that Azerbaijan "under the guise of restoration works is modifying the Kazanchetsots Church in Shushi."

In the opinion of Vladimir Vardanyan, an MP from the ruling "My Step" parliamentary faction, the dome dismantling "pursues one clear goal: to destroy any reminder of the Armenians' identity in these territories."