SIMFEROPOL, March 18. /TASS/. The Scythian Gold collection from Crimea remains in the Netherlands because the country has not decided yet where to send it amid Russia’s special military operation, Crimea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Permanent Representative to the Russian President Georgy Muradov said in an interview with TASS.
"The collection, which is the priceless heritage of the Crimean people, remains in the Netherlands for the time being. Although a decision was made to hand the items over to Kiev - and I would like to point out that it is the property of Crimea’s museums - the Dutch don’t know where and how to send the collection and how it will end because our special military operation is underway in Ukraine," he said.
Muradov believes that "the Scythian gold issue will also be resolved" once the special military operation’s goals are achieved.
The Scythian Gold collection of over 2,000 items was on display at the Allard Pierson Museum of the University of Amsterdam between February and August 2014. After the peninsula reunited with Russia in March 2014, uncertainty over the collection arose as both Russia and Ukraine claimed the exhibits. In this regard, the University of Amsterdam suspended the collection’s handover until either the dispute is legally resolved or the parties come to terms. In late October 2021, the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam ruled that the Scythian gold collection should be handed over to Ukraine. In January 2022, Russia filed an appeal against the decision with the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.