Turkey ‘probing Russia claims on antiques’
Turkey says it is “seriously” investigating Russian allegations that Daesh has been selling antiques and artifacts smuggled from Syria in a Turkish border town.
“Even though the claims in the Russian media and recently brought to the UN by the Russian authorities have been made for political purposes and as propaganda, they are being seriously investigated,” a Foreign Ministry official said.
The official said the Turkish ministry had earlier sent findings on the matter to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to be investigated.
In a letter to the United Nations, Russia’s Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said on Wednesday that the Turkish town of Gaziantep has become a hub for selling antiques stolen by the Daesh terrorist group from Syria.
He said Daesh’s illegal annual income from the sales of stolen historical relics reaches nearly 200 million dollars.
Most of the stolen artifacts are sold on the black market after being smuggled into Turkey from Syria, he claimed.
He said thousands of internationally recognized archaeological sites are still held by the Takfiri terrorists, nine of which are present in the World Heritage List of UNESCO.
The Turkish official, however, said Ankara “has taken all measures to prevent historical artifacts from Syria being removed and marketed.”
“Turkey will make every effort it can to protect cultural assets, which are the common heritage of humanity, and ensure they are safely passed on to future generations,” the official claimed.
Daesh overran Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra last May. The terrorists blew up Palmyra’s UNESCO-listed temples and looted relics that dated back thousands of years.
The terrorists also demolished the Ba’al Shamin shrine and destroyed the 2000-year-old Temple of Bel and detonated the Arch of Triumph that dated back to 200 AD.
The Syrian army and allied forces, however, managed to recapture the historic town from Daesh last month. Following the liberation of the town, Syria’s director general of antiquities and museums, Ma’amoun Abdulkarim, said it will take five years to restore the ruins of Palmyra.
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