Several have been critical that the precious items were even allowed to remain in Shushi. During the war, Shushi was considered invincible and many believed it would not fall to Azerbaijan. As such, some museums only transferred items into bomb shelters instead of shipping them out of the region.

The claiming  of Nagorno-Karabakh’s historical items is part of the attempts of Azerbaijan, supported by Turkey, to rewrite the narrative and discredit the regions Armenian Christian history.

The acquisition and reconstitution of these artefacts and religious sites are being utilised to negate and rewrite Christian history in Nagorno-Karabakh. This sends a message that Armenian Christians are no longer welcome in the present moment.

Source: persecution.org