UNESCO Envoy Urges Reconstruction of Palmyra Without Involving Politics

The international community must help rebuild the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, avoiding any possible "politization," Serbia’s Permanent Delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Darko Tanaskovic said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, an international delegation of the UNESCO permanent representatives carried out an inspection of Palmyra.

"We believe that with the common effort of all of us, of all the humanity, putting aside all kinds of politization we could really in a relatively short time make Palmyra what [it] was," Tanaskovic told reporters adding that the decision to reconstruct Palmyra was taken unanimously.

According to Tanaskovic, the UNESCO delegation was currently unable to assess the state of damage in Palmyra as its visit was introductory.

Palmyra and its historic ruins had been under Daesh jihadist group’s control since May 2015.

On March 27, forces loyal to Damascus, supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces, liberated the city of Palmyra from Daesh, 10 months after its capture. The terrorist group, outlawed in many countries including Russia, has destroyed a significant part of Palmyra's historic ruins, which are a UNESCO World Heritage site.

According to preliminary estimates, some 20 percent of ancient Palmyra was destroyed, while many exhibits were looted from museums. It could take around five years to restore the city.