VIENNA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th December, 2020) An Austrian museum in Salzburg handed over to Russia ancient relics stolen during World War Two, the Russian ambassador in Vienna said on Friday.
Containers with priceless amphoras and tombstones adorned with bas-relief carvings were shipped at Austria's expense to a small museum in the southwestern town of Temryuk, Dmitry Lubinsky said.
"I am convinced that the return of even the tiniest bits of the giant bulk of cultural treasure that was stolen and believed to be lost forever contributes to our common cause," the diplomat said.
Lubinsky thanked Salzburg Museum director Martin Hochleitner and Austria's President Alexander Van der Bellen for their efforts. He said it was Hochleitner's initiative to give back the artifacts that had been stored for decades in the museum's repository.
