SIMFEROPOL, December 3. / TASS /. The Crimean authorities and the Syrian Ministry of Culture have agreed that world-famous Crimean renovators will engage in the restoration of the monuments of Palmyra, an ancient city, which was barbarously blown up by terrorists during the hostilities, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea, Permanent Representative of Crimea under the Russian President Georgiy Muradov told TASS.

"We met with members of Syria’s Ministry of Culture and confirmed the readiness of our reputable renovators to resume their work on projects in this country. In particular, we are talking about the restoration of such an important monument as Palmyra," Muradov noted.

The Crimean official specified that at the first stage, the experts were designing a digital project for the further restoration of the monuments destroyed by terrorists.

The Syrian Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums and the Russian Center Stone signed a memorandum on the restoration of Palmyra’s triumphal arch on November 12, 2020. Work on it will kick off in 2022.

Palmyra (Tadmor) is one of the richest cities of late antiquity located in the Syrian desert’s oasis between Damascus and the Euphrates. According to legend, it was founded by the biblical King Solomon. The ruins of Palmyra are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The IS (Islamic State, banned in Russia) militants, which seized the city in 2015, destroyed several ancient monuments, including the Monumental Arch, the Lion of Al-Lat, the Temple of Baalshamin as well as the city’s largest building Temple of Bel.