MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Austria is ready to actively participate in restoring the Syrian city of Palmyra, Austrian Ambassador to Russia Emil Brix said.
"Austria is a member of UNESCO executive board, and we are also working in this direction and as far as Palmyra is concerned, we are involved in various activities, we are the cofounder of the so-called Emergancy7 safeguard of the Syrian cultural heritage project, which is, again, managed by UNESCO, the field office in Beirut, and there we are also financially involved," Brix told RIA Novosti in an interview.
"In all these issues, we can only be one of the partners there because of the experience that we have. By sending experts, by providing the necessary infrastructure, because we have this cultural heritage tradition in our country. It's sometimes more valuable to have the expertise and to have the experts than put directly money into such a project. But we also certainly do support financially at least this one project already," Brix said.
"Actually, the big money is needed when we have a political solution for Syria, and when it's safe to rebuild there the culture heritage site in a way which can support also the reconciliation of people in Syria, which can also give them back the cultural self-confidence necessary," Brix said.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups.
A US-Russia-brokered ceasefire came into force across Syria on February 27, but it does not apply to terrorist organizations active in the country, such as Nusra Front, which is outlawed in many countries, including Russia. Despite the ceasefire agreement, violence has escalated in Syria in recent weeks, especially in the northern Aleppo region.
