PRESIDENT SUGGESTS UKRAINE INCLUDE ARMENIAN SURB-HACH MONASTERY ON UNESCO LIST
Interfax News Service
July 30 2008
Russia
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has suggested to Ukrainian President
Viktor Yushchenko that he include the Armenian Surb-Hach monastery
in Ukraine on the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization) list of world heritage sites.
Sargsyan made this statement at the celebration of the 650th jubilee
of the Armenian monastery located not far from the town of Old Crimea.
Three Armenian cultural properties in Iran have already been added
to the UNESCO list, the president said.
It is remarkable that the celebration of the 1020th anniversary of
Christianization in Ukraine coincided with the 650th jubilee of the
Surb- Hach monastery, an outstanding historical and cultural site,
the Armenian president said.
The celebration of the monastery’s 650th anniversary will be a worthy
stimulus to broaden and deepen the Ukrainian-Armenian relations not
only in the cultural, but also political, economic and other areas,
Sargsyan said.
Sargsyan thanked the Crimean parliamentary speaker and prime minister
for their participation in the restoration of the Surb-Hach monastery,
which has for centuries been a spiritual center for Armenians and a
pilgrimage site in Crimea.