OMM Redaksiyası
The latest statement by the Patriarchate of Georgia concerning the Kurmuk temple located in Azerbaijan contradicts the spirit of friendship, partnership and good-neighborly relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia.
“Operative Information Center-OMM” reports that Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said this in a statement.
The ministry said that presenting geographical and historical toponyms located in Azerbaijan under other names is unacceptable:
“Azerbaijan has always respected Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. At the same time, the Georgian side’s demonstrating the same attitude toward Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty constitutes an important foundation of the strategic partnership established between the two countries. It is precisely from this perspective that the approach of the Patriarchate of Georgia toward Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, which contains territorial claims, is incomprehensible.”
The statement stressed that religious institutions should refrain from approaches that could harm the historical friendship and good-neighborly relations formed over centuries between the peoples of Azerbaijan and Georgia:
“In this regard, it is inadvisable for the Patriarchate of Georgia to repeat the Armenian Church’s known approaches and follow its path. All historical, cultural and religious monuments located in Azerbaijan are an integral part of the national heritage of the Azerbaijani people and the Azerbaijani state.”
The Kurmuk temple is among the religious and historical sites located in northern Azerbaijan, an area with longstanding cultural ties between Azerbaijani and Georgian communities. Azerbaijan and Georgia maintain close political, economic and people-to-people relations, with mutual respect for territorial integrity serving as a stated principle of their partnership.
