ROME, January 4. /TASS/. Director of the Uffizi Gallery Eike Schmidt hopes that cooperation with Russia in the cultural sphere is restored soon in order to resume exchanges of exhibits and projects.

Among the main achievements of his eight-year tenure at the gallery, he considers opening new exhibition spaces, including the Museum of Russian Icons, which was presented exactly two years ago. The museum includes the Russian icons from the Medici collection which is considered to be the largest and most valuable outside of Russia.

"I am very proud that we opened the Museum of Russian Icons. This happened at a very special moment in history, and our exhibition of self-portraits also includes works by Russian artists. Uffizi preserves access and introduces the great Russian culture even if now many people cannot afford this, because they do not travel while direct cooperation with Russian museums and joint exhibits are impossible. Let’s hope that this is over soon. I hope that relations between our countries will soon flourish again as it has always been," Schmidt said in an interview with a TASS correspondent.