Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan said that Azerbaijan tries to make UNESCO an arena of political conflicts.

Hasmik Poghosyan’s statement, where she commented on Azerbaijan’s attempt to include “dolma” preparation custom in UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage as an element belonging to "the whole Turkic world", reads this.

“Getting acquainted with the Azerbaijani Culture Minister's recent statement, it is clear that our neighbouring state is once again trying to politicize and make an arena of political conflict not only culture, but also UNESCO, an organization whose mission is to bring together and unite the nations. Azerbaijani officials’ attempts to enter into unhealthy competition do not contribute to the intercultural dialogue between the peoples, exacerbating the already tense situation in the region”, said Hasmik Poghosyan.

According to the Minister, it’s not the first time that Azerbaijan has taken “responsive” steps after applications submitted by the Armenian side to UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage were approved.

“Not trusting own identity regularly and relying on other nations, you shouldn’t forget about other nations who are the bearers and users of the culture, before submitting application to UNESCO. To recap, “turks” term involves a great ethno linguistic group that consist of Kazakhs, Tatars, Kirghizs, Turks, Turkmens, Uzbeks, Uyghurs and other nations. Even if dolma is spread among all nations, we should not forget about Arabic, Balkan, Slavic world, and, finally, the Armenian traditions”, said Hasmik Poghosyan.