The director of Culture Ministry’s Historic and Cultural Heritage Scientific Studies Center Hakob Simonyan believes the annual financing of AMD 230 mln allocated for preservation of historic heritage in Armenia to be insufficient.

As he told a news conference in Yerevan, “AMD 90 mln was only allocated to Sanahin monastery restoration.”

As Simonyan noted, referring to the issue of preservation of historic monuments in Armenia, only some of the monuments are under protection of Armenian Ministry of Culture, while Holy Etchmiadzin is in charge of acting churches. “Other monasteries, not requiring restoration are protected by the state,” Simonyan said, citing Zvartnots temple as an example. “Etchmiadzin has submitted a list of 180 monasteries, some of which are under its protection.”

In 2011, 1500 more monuments will be included in the state list for protection of historic and cultural monuments of Armenia.