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Russian senator slams Dutch court’s decision to hand over Scythian gold to Ukraine

Vladimir Dzhabarov noted that he had not expect any other decision from the Dutch court however pointed out that the "struggle needs to be continued"

MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/. First Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov called the Amsterdam Court’s decision on the ownership of the Scythian gold to Ukraine biased and expected, and added that Moscow will not leave it unanswered.

"Who would have doubted that there would be such a biased decision. They attempted to prove that allegedly Crimea is not Russian territory, but sooner or later they will be forced to do it anyway, since it will meet the realities that Crimea and Sevastopol are the subjects of the Russian Federation," the senator told TASS. "Ukraine tried to take the Scythian gold in such a thieving way, let God be their judge. I think that we won’t leave it unanswered," he added.

The senator believes that the "struggle needs to be continued." "Ukraine has nothing to do with the Scythian gold, it didn’t just exist when this Scythian gold was found and placed in storage. But we did not expect any other decision from the Dutch court," Dzhabarov noted.

The Amsterdam Court of Appeal has ruled that the Scythian Gold collection should be handed over to Ukraine, Presiding Judge Pauline Hofmeijer-Rutten announced on Tuesday. According to her, the artifacts in question are "part of the cultural heritage of the Ukrainian State" and should be handed over to Ukraine.

The Scythian Gold collection of over 2,000 items was on view 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.