SIMFEROPOL, January 25. /TASS/. The Crimean museums have filed an appeal against the Amsterdam District Court’s ruling to return the Scythian gold collection to Ukraine, Crimean Culture Minister Arina Novoselskaya said at a meeting with Crimea’s head Sergey Aksyonov.
"We have filed an appeal… We hope that a right political decision will be taken," the press service of the Crimean government quoted her as saying.
According to Novoselskaya, "what happened in the court is against all museum ethics." "These valuables can only be kept in the region where they were found. They are Crimea’s heritage that should be returned home," the minister said.
Legal battle
As TASS reported earlier, on December 14, 2016, the Amsterdam District Court ruled that the Scythian gold treasures should be returned to Ukraine and not the Crimean museums.
The Scythian gold collection from the Crimean museums was put on view at the Allard Pierson Museum of the University of Amsterdam in February 2014 when Crimea was still part of Ukraine. However, after the peninsula reunited with Russia in March 2014, an uncertainty over the collection arose as both Russia and Ukraine claimed the exhibits. In this regard, the University of Amsterdam suspended the handover until either the dispute is legally resolved or the parties come to terms.
Apart from the Central Museum of Tavrida, the Kerch Historical and Cultural Preserve, the Bakhchysarai Historical and Cultural Preserve and the Chersonesus Historical and Cultural Preserve are among those museums whose items are currently kept in Amsterdam. Items provided for the exhibition by a Kiev museum, were returned to Ukraine in September.