Russia Preparing to Nominate New Objects for UNESCO World Heritage List: Official

 / Go to the mediabankThe Leninskiye Stolby national park, Yakutia / Go to the mediabankMOSCOW (Sputnik) – Moscow is preparing to nominate new objects for inclusion on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, including from the Russian republics of Sakha and Tuva and from the Voronezh region, Grigory Ordzhonikidze, Secretary-General of the Russian Commission for UNESCO said.”Russia’s relevant departments, primarily the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, are working hard to prepare new nominations for the UNESCO World Heritage List,” Ordzhonikidze said.The official specified that the tentative list includes about 25 cultural and natural monuments throughout the country: from the historic city centers of Irkutsk, Rostov and Yeniseysk to the natural and cultural complex “Bashkir Ural”, Kenozersky National Park and the Vasyugan Swamp.”In the last two years, initiatives have been put forward regarding the nature reserve museum Divnogorye in Voronezh, astronomical observatories in Kazan, Kytalyk National Park in Yakutia [Sakha Republic] and the ‘Valley of the Kings of Tuva’,” Ordzhonikidze added.A session of the World Heritage Committee, initially scheduled for June in the Russian city of Kazan, is unlikely to take place until the end of 2022, Grigory Ordzhonikidze, Secretary-General of the Russian Commission for UNESCO, told Sputnik.

In April, UNESCO postponed the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, without setting a new date or location.

The diplomat said that the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee effectively blocked the 45th session, driven by “orchestrated hysteria” of Europe against Russia, this year’s chair of the committee. Even though Moscow was willing to compromise, rescheduling the event on other dates was not discussed, Ordzhonikidze said.

The West and its allies “decided to politicize UNESCO and its World Heritage Committee,” the official said, adding that the governing body is responsible for implementing the provisions of the 1972 convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage and the composition of the list of World Heritage Sites.”Given that such high-level meetings cannot be hastily arranged, we may infer that a full-fledged session will not take place until the end of this year,” Ordzhonikidze said.The diplomat bemoaned this outcome, saying that it illustrates how the attempts of Western nations to isolate Russia backfire on them and the global community.

Russia continues to fulfill its obligations as a member of the World Heritage Committee in good faith and remains committed to its principles and ideals, the official said.The UNESCO World Heritage List includes places of importance to cultural or natural heritage, including, among other things, monuments, geological and physiographical formations, as well as natural sites. Russia currently has 30 properties inscribed on the World Heritage List.

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