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Crimea and Sevastopol

Struggle for return of Scythian Gold collection must continue — head of Crimea

Sergey Aksyonov slammed the Amsterdam court's decision to hand over the Scythian gold to Ukraine as outrageous and unfair

SIMFEROPOL, October 26. /TASS/. The efforts for securing the return of the Scythian Gold collection to Crimea must go on, the head of the republic Sergey Aksyonov said on Tuesday.

"I believe that the work for the return home of the valuables that rightly belong to the people of Crimea must go on," Aksyonov wrote in his Telegram-channel.

He slammed the Amsterdam court's decision to hand over the Scythian gold to Ukraine as "outrageous, unfair and unjust, although a well-expected one, bearing in mind the European courts' bias and their hostile attitude to Russia and to Crimea."

"As a matter of fact, this is a fig leaf covering up an outrageous raider seizure. The Scythian Gold was found in Crimean soil, where it had spent many hundreds of years. These valuables are an integral part of Crimea's historical and cultural heritage and an asset of all Crimeans. The collection must be returned to the Crimean museums. This is required by law and justice," Aksyonov said.

He remarked that the court preferred to be guided by politics, and not law.

"Apparently, the court does not care at all about both law and justice. It preferred to opt for politics and be guided by hysterical demands from the regime in Kiev," Aksyonov said.

Amsterdam court's decision

Amsterdam's court of appeal on October 26 ruled that the Scythian Gold collection should be handed over to Ukraine. The presiding judge, Pauline Hofmeijer-Rutten said the artifacts in question were part of Ukraine's cultural heritage and must be handed over to the Ukrainian side.

The Scythian Gold is a collection of more than 2,000 items that were put on display at an exhibition at the Allard Pierson Museum of the University of Amsterdam in February 2014 when Crimea was still part of Ukraine. Uncertainty over the collection's future emerged when Crimea reunited with Russia in March 2014. Crimea’s museums and Ukraine both laid claim to the collection. The University of Amsterdam, which oversees the Allard Pierson Museum's activities, put the handover procedure on hold until either the dispute was legally resolved or the parties came to terms.

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Crimea and Sevastopol Ukraine The Netherlands

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