The ceremony to hand over the antiquities took place at the National Museum of Beirut in the presence of sector officials from the two nations.

During the ceremony, Lebanese Minister of Culture Muhammad Wissam Al-Murtadha commented that the return of the pieces is part of bilateral cooperation, and stressed that his country and Syria share a common history and the aspiration for a better future. For his part, Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdulkarim pointed out that his nation managed to preserve a large part of its antiquities and transferred them to the Damascus Museum and other similar facilities to prevent them from falling into the hands of terrorism.

Damascus is awaiting the return of other pieces that belong to it and are currently in the National Museum in Beirut, he said. jg/abo/gas/fm