MOSCOW, July 03. /ITAR-TASS/. The Dutch authorities have promised to solve the issue of the Scythian gold collection from Crimea by the end of September, but Russia has already sought legal advice in the event of litigation, Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky said on Thursday, July 3.

“Crimean museums have filed official requests according to which the collection has to be returned, and the Dutch are now considering them. They have promised to consider them at the end of the summer or in September,” he said.

Medinsky said the Russian Culture Ministry had asked “a well-known international law company which will defend our interests in the event of litigation, which we hope will never happen”.

Exhibits were brought to Amsterdam from museums of Crimea, but a no-nonsense fight is in progress now around what is referred to as Scythian gold, in view of the latest developments in Ukraine and Crimea’s accession to Russia. The question is - where will the exhibits go after the exhibition ends. The organizers have commitments both to the Ukrainian Culture Ministry and Crimean museums that are now on the Russian soil. Besides, the Netherlands has not officially recognized Crimea’s accession to Russia.