Moscow: Inclusion of Odessa on the UNESCO World Heritage List is a political decision
On January 26th, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the inclusion of the historic center of Odessa on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger is a political decision passed by Western countries that decided to sacrifice the status of this international organization.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “A group of countries belonging to the collective West and with the scandalous assistance of the UNESCO secretariat that has lost its neutrality, hastily passed a political decision to include the historic center of the city overlooking the Black Sea on the list of World Heritage in Danger, without respecting the current standards of UNESCO.”
The ministry added: “Western countries have shown once again not only their disregard for the rules of procedure of the World Heritage Committee, but also their willingness to sacrifice UNESCO’s high status and its 1972 Master Convention for geopolitical interests.”
The ministry continued: “Apart from the controversy about the important cultural heritage and the glorious historical past of Odessa as part of the Russian state, we consider including it among the threatened objects quite natural, but at the same time clarifying the truth is required, which is that the only threat to the city with a rich history is the Nazi regime in Ukraine.”
Yesterday, during an emergency meeting of the Historical Heritage Committee, UNESCO decided to include the historic center of Odessa in the List of World Heritage in Danger, allowing it to obtain international technical and financial assistance to protect it when needed.
In turn, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “The ignorance of Westerners is simply amazing. Historical monuments in Odessa are being demolished by the Kiev authorities, who have declared an all-out war on the entire cultural heritage.”
Only 6 countries supported the Western request and 14 countries abstained.
- al-Mohammad