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UNESCO has power to deal with removal of holy relics from Ukraine — Lavrov

The top diplomat noted that Russia was currently probing into rumors about the delivery of several icons from Ukraine to the Louvre

MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Russia asked UNESCO to look into the situation involving the removal of holy relics from Ukraine, but the organization has not bothered to address the issue so far, although it has the authority to do this.

"We have already addressed UNESCO and the Director-General of UNESCO. Ms. [Audray] Azoulay, having made inquiries, told us that UNESCO had nothing to do with it, but our question was not quite about that. Yes, if UNESCO suddenly turned out to be somehow involved in this business, it would certainly be in violation of all the statutory documents of that organization. But UNESCO, regardless of whether someone had asked it to help or not, has the authority to deal with such matters and protect cultural valuables," Lavrov said at an online briefing on Friday. He recalled that there was a special UNESCO list of cultural assets and sites, which included the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra "with all its patrimony, design, decoration."

"We continue to seek information about what is really going on there and to what extent these reports are true," Lavrov stated.

He added that Russia was currently probing into rumors about the delivery of several icons from Ukraine to the Louvre.

"We are dealing with this piece of news that appeared just yesterday to the effect that several icons, dating back to the early days of icon painting art, were delivered to the Louvre. Without any explanation about who created these icons or where they had been before. They were just delivered from Ukraine to the Louvre, and allegedly the Louvre staff confirmed this when responding to journalists’ questions. But when asked about the details concerning the icons and where they had come from, the museum workers replied that it was a secret. How long the icons will stay in the Louvre is a secret, too," Lavrov said.

He advised the journalists participating in the briefing "to try to press museum officials on the subject."

"This is important, including from the standpoint of the preservation of historical heritage and historical memory," Lavrov said.

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