DAMASCUS, July 19. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to Syria Alexander Yefimov expects that the Russian Culture Center in Damascus will be reopened before the end of 2019, he said in an exclusive interview with TASS.

"We are facing a task of resuming the operation of the Russian Culture Center in Damascus, which played a prominent role in the cultural life of the capital, but had to be shut down at the time of the crisis. Now there’s an understanding that the center can and should open its doors again, we just need to settle a number of organizational and technical issues. I am personally optimistic and hope that the first visitors will be greeted by the center before the end of 2019," he said.

The Russian Culture Center in Damascus had to be shut down in 2013 due to the intensive armed conflict.

The armed conflict in Syria broke out in 2011. In the end of 2017, it was announced that the victory over the Islamic State terrorist group was achieved on the territory of this Middle Eastern state. Currently, political settlement, rehabilitation of the country and return of refugees are taking the center stage.