France’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Interational Development Loran Fabius has condemned the destruction of the Holy Martyrs Armenian Church of Deir ez-Zor, reports www.azatutyun.am.

“National heritage is under threat in Syria and Iraq. Failure to fulfill the obligation to protect cultural heritage is viewed as a war crime, the culprits of which are punished by the International Criminal Court. France, along with the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture, supports the implementation of agreements on the protection of cultural heritage, particularly in the case of an armed conflict,” as stated in Fabius’s statement.