MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A foundation to bring together various interested organizations and to help collect the funds required to restore the Syrian city of Palmyra will be established in Russia, Mikhail Piotrovsky, the director of the Russian State Hermitage Museum, said on Wednesday.
"UNESCO will coordinate the project, but it will not fund the restoration of Palmyra… We will have to look for funding. Which is why we are establishing a foundation that will bring together Russian construction, restoration and financing organizations and, hopefully, will collect the money," Piotrovsky told Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper.
The director of Hermitage reportedly added that Russia might be able to partially fund the restoration.
"We have a lot of plans for Palmyra. We are itching to start, but it is impossible. The war has to end first," Piotrovsky said.
The director of Hermitage reportedly said that Russia and Germany were planning to launch a joint project to study the antiquities market, to follow up on the stolen valuables, as several items from Palmyra had already been discovered in Europe.
Daesh militants took control over Palmyra, one of the most important centers of ancient civilization, in May 2015. Almost a year later, the Syrian army managed to liberate the city, however, in December 2016, the terrorists regained control over the city for the second time, but were pushed out again.
Russian specialists have been engaged in demining Palmyra following its second liberation. On Tuesday, chief of the Russian General Staff Main Operational Directorate Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said that Russia has cleared 940 buildings in the city and a 28-mile stretch of roads of more than 1,800 explosive devices.
