Why is Russia reconstructing Syria’s ancient sites?

Why is Russia reconstructing Syria’s ancient sites? Dr Gertjan Plets (Cultural History) wrote about the Russian interference in Syria in The American research journal OZY.

“Russia is trying, through UNESCO, to get international teams involved in Syrian projects supported by the U.N. cultural agency. Its goal? If you have Russia and Western nations working together through UNESCO, it’s basically an acknowledgment (by the West) of the Assad regime”, Plets says.

The Middle East 

Plets notes that Russia’s efforts may point to a wider plan to wield influence beyond Syria and into the broader Middle East, its biggest arms market. “We should never forget that (Russian state energy conglomerate) Gazprom are involved in projects in the Middle East”, he adds.