BAKU, July 7. /TASS/. The monuments of northwestern Russia’s ancient city of Pskov have been included on the List of World Heritage Sites of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The decision was made on Sunday at the 43rd session of the UN cultural watchdog’s World Heritage Committee in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku, a TASS correspondent has reported.

"We congratulate Russia’s delegation that this nominee has been included on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage Sites," Azerbaijan’s Culture Minister Abulfas Garayev, who chairs the session, said. During the discussions, the representatives of UNESCO member-states highlighted great historical, cultural and architectural importance of Pskov’s monuments.

The monuments of ancient Pskov, nominated by Russia, include 17 facilities, namely the cathedrals built in the 12th-17th centuries, the towers of the Pskov fortress and the Pskov Kremlin’s chambers dating back to the 17th century. The oldest monument is the 12th century Spaso-Preobrazhensky Mirozhsky Monastery famous for its frescoes.

Russia’s permanent envoy to UNESCO Alexander Kuznetsov stressed that Russia’s presentation received a warm welcome from participants of the 43rd session. "We are very glad that our site had not only been included on the list [of UNESCO’s World Heritage] but its presentation received a warm and kind response from UNESCO’s Secretariat, subsidiary bodies and all participants."

The envoy noted that Pskov’s monuments deserve being included on the World Heritage List. "Due to various reasons this process has been delayed. But we are very glad that this happened today," he noted.

For Russia, this nomination is of special importance, the envoy stressed. "Pskov with its monuments and rich heritage belongs to a number of Russian cities, which can be considered as the cradle of our culture and our civilization, and of course a part of European culture.".