According to the Deputy Head of the Georgian Border Police, Teimuraz Kupatadze, the Azerbaijani side took the icons from monastic cells to protect them from being damaged.

As Kupatadze told journalists after the meeting between Georgian and Azerbaijani sides in Davit Gareji, according to the Azeri side, they took the icons from the monastic cells in order to protect them from being damaged and not because there was not their place in the monastery.

"They clarified that if the weather was worsened, in case of wind or rain, the icons would be damaged and they took the icons to the Church of the Resurrection and handed them over to our border guards to avoid accusations,” the Deputy Head of the Georgian Border Police said.