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Handover of Scythian Gold to Ukraine tantamount to theft — Russian MFA

"The attempt to conceal the actual theft of cultural property by a verdict by the Supreme Court of the Netherlands once again calls into question the independence and impartiality of the Dutch judicial system," Maria Zakharova said

MOSCOW, November 29. /TASS/. The transfer of Scythian gold to Kiev is an illegitimate and inadmissible decision and, in fact, tantamount to theft, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

"Scythian gold. The transfer by the Netherlands to the Kiev authorities of the exhibits from the exhibition Crimea: Gold and Mysteries of the Black Sea belonging to four Crimean museums, as we have repeatedly said, is illegitimate in terms of the established practice of exchanges between museums and absolutely unacceptable from the point of view of morality," Zakharova told a news briefing.

"The attempt to conceal the actual theft of cultural property by a verdict by the Supreme Court of the Netherlands once again calls into question the independence and impartiality of the Dutch judicial system," Zakharova said.

The Hague "has dealt a heavy blow to the cultural and historical heritage of the Crimean Peninsula," in fact becoming an accomplice in the seizure of unique artifacts that were discovered in the process of archaeological excavations in Crimea and since then have been permanently in Crimean museums," she stressed.

About Scythian Gold Collection

Scythian Gold is a collection of more than 2,000 artefacts that were used for the exhibition Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea, which ran from February to August 2014 at the Allard Pearson Museum in Amsterdam. Its status came into question after Crimea's reunification with Russia in March 2014. The exhibits removed from the peninsula were claimed by both Crimean museums and Ukraine. In this regard, the University of Amsterdam, which supervises the work of the Allard Pearson Museum, suspended the procedure for the transfer of valuables until the parties come to an agreement or the dispute is resolved in court.

In June this year, the Dutch Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal to transfer the Scythian gold to Ukraine. Sergey Tsekov, a member of the Russian Federation Council from Crimea, called the decision illegal, as the gold legally belongs to Crimean museums.

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