Speech made by Riyad Haddad, Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic to the Russian Federation

Esteemed Deputy Minister of Culture Oleg Vladimirovich Ryzhkov, esteemed Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, Director of the Hermitage, esteemed ladies and gentlemen, dear attendees.

First of all, I should like to express my gratitude for the invitation to participate in the work of the 6th Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum that has become one of the main cultural platforms in the international arena, and also my great appreciation for your interest in the topic of the protection of cultural heritage and in holding this round table devoted to the preservation of monuments in zones of armed conflict.

Our interest in this topic is particularly keen since Syria is rich in cultural monuments that date from various historical periods and various civilizations back to the very first appearance of humankind, and many of them have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The question of the preservation of these monuments acquires even greater significance in the light of the terrorist war being waged by the ideologists of takfirism and some of those monuments have been subjected to systematic destruction, whether in the historic city of Palmyra or the old city of Aleppo, the Crac des Chevaliers castle and other places, not to mention the thefts carried out by criminal groupings in collaboration with smugglers from neighbouring countries, which often makes it impossible to trace the development of civilization in our region, which is the cradle of civilizations. Particular attention needs to be devoted to that aspect and to watching international auctions so as to identify the criminal chains and to work to return the stolen artefacts back home.

The government of the Syrian Arab Republic has been making great efforts since the very start of the crisis and terrorist war to preserve monuments, among other things by removing cultural treasures from museums to places of safety, nonetheless, the terrorists, supported by certain regional and international players, were able to infiltrate such historical areas as Palmyra, engaged in systematic looting and destroyed many monuments, such as the Temple of Baal in Palmyra, the triumphal arch and part of the ancient theatre.

There is nothing in the world to justify these crimes against humanity, but those terrorists, who belong to various radical tendencies, do not distinguish between people and monuments. For example, they seized Khaled al-Asaad, the Director of the Museum of Palmyra, and tortured him to death by the terrorists, although he was a mine of information about Palmyra and its monuments.

I should like to express profound gratitude for the creation of a 3D model of the restored Palmyra, which will make it possible to launch a corresponding project for the reconstruction of the city. This model has been made with the help of high technology and drones, which is in itself unique and unprecedented. Here too, I have to express tremendous gratitude to the people, army and leadership of Russia that stood side by side with the Syrian state, whose armed forces brought about the liberation of the city of Palmyra, and who heroically suffered losses together with the Syrian army in the cause of preserving the country’s independence.

The Russian Federation has demined all the regions liberated from ISIS, which has saved many lives among the civilian population, and today Russia is providing its enormous support on the cultural plane by the creating such an important project that assists the process of recreating the historic city of Palmyra, and here mention must be made of the role of the Hermitage museum and the Ministry of Culture that both have great experience in this field.

Thank you for your attention.