MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The terrorist destruction of ancient sites in the recaptured Syrian city of Palmyra is a barbaric act, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday as the Kremlin noted the Syrian military's efforts to liberate the city.
"I've seen reports that a Roman theater has been blown up… What can you say, barbarians are barbarians. This ideology and practice is absolutely unacceptable for modern civilization," Lavrov said at a briefing following talks with his Kazakh counterpart.
Speaking to reporters later in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov echoed Lavrov's sentiment as a "tragedy in terms of the loss of the world's cultural heritage."
"The barbaric terrorist actions are continuing and of course, as far as we know, the Syrian military is not abandoning its plans to liberate the city, as well as other cities from terrorists," Peskov said.
Palmyra's monuments are included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said earlier in the day that she was shocked and saddened by the destruction.
Syria's President Bashar Assad blamed the United States for supervising the recapture of the ancient city by the Daesh terrorist group, outlawed in Russia and many other countries.
Since 2011, Syria has been engulfed in a civil war, with government forces fighting against numerous opposition and terrorist groups, including al-Nusra Front and Daesh, which is banned in a range of countries, including Russia.
