Russia ready to help France with Notre Dame fire investigation

Russia is ready to help investigate the cause of the devastating fire at the iconic Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and determine how stable its basic structural elements are, Russian Emergencies Minister Yevgeny Zinichev told French Ambassador to Russia Sylvie-Agnes Bermann on Friday.

"If necessary, the Russian Emergencies Ministry is ready to send its experts and equipment to Paris in order to assist in establishing causes of the blaze and determining how stable the cathedral's affected structural elements are," Russian news agency TASS quoted Zinichev as saying.

"Notre-Dame is one of the greatest symbols of the global cultural and spiritual heritage," he added.

Quoting a spokesperson for the Russian Emergencies Ministry, TASS further reported that the two sides discussed main aspects of cooperation in disaster prevention and response, apart from signing an agreement on cooperation in disaster prevention and response.

Bermann and her delegation were invited by Zinichev to attend the Complex Security-2019 exhibition in Moscow on June 6 and June 7.

Completed in the 13th Century, the cathedral is considered a feat of architecture with its towers, spire, flying buttresses, and stained glass. It draws nearly 13 million tourists to Paris every year.

Nearly two-thirds of the roof of the 850-year-old French gothic architecture was severely damaged by a devastating fire on April 15.