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Russia ready to help France with Notre-Dame blaze investigation

Cathedral's interior after fire REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/Pool
Cathedral's interior after fire
© REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/Pool

MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/. The Russian Emergencies Ministry is ready to help investigate the fire at the iconic Notre-Dame Catheral in Paris and determine how stable its basic structural elements are, Russian Emergencies Minister Yevgeny Zinichev told French Ambassador to Russia Sylvie-Agnes Bermann on Friday.

"If necessary, the Russian Emergencies Ministry is ready to send its experts and equipment to Paris in order to assist in establishing causes of the blaze and determining how stable the cathedral’s affected structural elements are," the minister said. "Notre-Dame is one of the greatest symbols of the global cultural and spiritual heritage."

A spokesperson for the Russian Emergencies Ministry said the sides also discussed main aspects of cooperation in disaster prevention and response. Zinichev invited Bermann and her colleagues to attend the Complex Security-2019 exhibition in Moscow on June 6-7.

The sides also signed an agreement on cooperation in disaster prevention and response, as well as this year’s work schedule.

A fire broke out at the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral on the evening of April 15. Due to fierce blaze, the building’s spire and most of the roof collapsed. According to preliminary information, the fire is believed to have been sparked by the ongoing renovation works on a higher level of the cathedral.

French authorities and private donors have pledged hundreds of millions of euro to rebuild one of the French capital’s most important landmarks. Offers of assistance came from Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany and other countries.