Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Vienna, SANA- German archaeologist Prof. Andreas Schmidt-Colinet said that the international community should cooperate and work to preserve the heritage of Palmyra city and protect its cultural identity and not allow terrorists to threaten it.
Schmidt-Colinet, who worked for decades as the head of the German-Syrian archaeological mission in Palmyra, stressed in an interview with the Austrian magazine Profil the importance of the historical and geographical location of this city as a station on old world trade routes that was in touch with the ancient Romanian, Chinese and Persian civilizations, in addition to its existence as an important urban center on the Silk Road between Rome and China and its aesthetic importance of its historical monuments.
He criticized the inability of the entire international community to protect the historical heritage of the city from the destruction of ancient monuments committed by ISIS terrorists, expressing sorrow over the failure of the United Nations, UN Security Council, and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in protecting, supporting, and helping to repair what been destroyed by terrorists in Palmyra.
He also affirmed that it’s impossible to establish peace in Syria without President Bashar al-Assad, adding that during his long residence in Syria he came to know that the majority of the Syrian people support him.
The Professor underlined the need to bring all parties to the dialogue table to discuss not only finishing the war in Syria, but also to discuss the future of Palmyra as one of the most important archeological cities in the world and the way to repair it and protect it in the future.
Manar al-Freih / Hazem Sabbagh