During his visit to Russia in March 2007, ICHTO President will discuss the return of Persian artifacts from Hermitage Museum.

Tehran, 6 January 2007 (CHN) -- The conditions for the return of a number of Persian artifacts, which are currently held in St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum, to their home country will be discussed during the visit of the president of Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) to Russia which will take place in March 2007.

Announcing this news, Mohammad-Kazem Kholdi-Nasab, director of ICHTO's International Department said: "Esfandiar Rahim-Mashayi, president of ICHTO, will make a visit to Russia in the coming March, during which a memorandum of understanding will be signed between the authorities of the two countries for expanding of cooperation especially in fields of tourism and cultural heritage."

According to Kholdi-Nasab, this memorandum of understanding will include different issues such as the exchange of information and experience in museum management as well as preservation and restoration of historical relics.

Evidence shows that a number of Persian artifacts are currently kept in Hermitage Museum; and based on UNESCO's convention on the return of historical relics, Iran has the right to demand for their return.

Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg is one of the largest, oldest, most important and famous art galleries and museums of human history and culture in the world. Passing two centuries and a half from its establishment and having more than 3,000,000 items, Hermitage Museum presents the development of the world of culture and art from the Stone Age to the 20th century.

Different scientific groups have started their studies in this museum since 1920 among whom are a number of experts in Iranian studies who work in the Middle Eastern department of the museum. This department is consisted of four sections including Ancient Rome, Near East, Middle East, and Central Asia.