Russia expressed readiness to organize a visit of foreign experts to Chersonesos

Russia is ready to organize a visit of foreign experts to Chersonesos Taurica in Crimea to confirm the safety of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. This was reported by TASS at the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to UNESCO.

Russia regularly provides the World Heritage Centre with reports on the state of conservation of this Russian site. We are ready to organize visits to the site by international structures and experts within the framework of their mandates and procedures applicable to visits to the territory of the Russian Federation, the Permanent Mission stated.

They also added that Moscow has never refused to cooperate with experts from the International Council on Monuments and Sites and to allow experts to visit Tauric Chersonesos and its Choir.

Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov statedthat UNESCO representatives «may, if they wish, come to Crimea» to Tauric Chersonesos to assess its condition. This was his response to the intention of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture to achieve the inclusion of Tauric Chersonesos in the list of UNESCO sites under threat of destruction.

Chersonesos was founded as a Greek colony in 424-421 BC. It is believed that it was here that Prince Vladimir, who later baptized Rus, adopted Christianity in the 10th century. The museum on the territory of the settlement has been operating for over a century, but the creation of a historical and archaeological park next to it began several years ago. The complex includes several museums and other objects, as well as a large park area.

Since 2013, this monument has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. After the referendum that resulted in the reunification of Crimea with Russia in 2014, UNESCO specialists did not visit Chersonesos. However, despite Kyiv’s long-standing accusations against Moscow, the international organization did not touch upon the issue of changing the status of the site.

source: TASS