RUSSIA-UNESCO-SESSION-FINANCE

St. Petersburg, July 7 (Interfax) – The UNESCO World Heritage Committee ended its 10-day 36th session in St. Petersburg on Friday.

Twenty-six sites in various countries were added to the World Heritage List at the session.

The implementation of all decisions made at the 36th session will require $4.3 million, head of the World Heritage Center Kishore Rao said on the closing day of the session. Currently, the committee has around $1 million, and the organization expects to obtain the rest from contributions by participating countries and from other sources, he said.

Some financial difficulties could arise because of the U.S. refusal to make its contribution, head of the World Heritage Committee and Russia’s permanent representative to the UNESCO Eleonora Mitrofanova told reporters.

“For the Committee, it is a significant sum ($4.3 million), not least because UNESCO is in some sort of an economic crisis but because of the U.S. failure to pay its contribution,” Mitrofanova said.

The 37th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will be held in Cambodia in 2013.

[UA EUROPE EEU EMRG POL]

09:47:00 EET-2