Russia Sees No Progress On Scythian Gold Held In Netherlands - Russian Ambassador

Russia does not see any progress on the Scythian gold case, though still has some hope for an objective resolution of the issue, Russian Ambassador to the Netherlands Alexander Shulgin said Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st March, 2023) Russia does not see any progress on the Scythian gold case, though still has some hope for an objective resolution of the issue, Russian Ambassador to the Netherlands Alexander Shulgin said Tuesday.

"Sadly, we still see no progress. The Prosecutor General's opinion is still advisory � it is just a recommendation for the Supreme Court. So the hope for the fair decision of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands still flickers," Shulgin told Sputnik.

He added that up until now, the Dutch courts have been guided by politics and made "purely political judgments" in the case that "ignored the interests of the Crimeans."

A collection of Scythian gold from four Crimean museums, consisting of about 2,000 artifacts, was sent for an exhibition at the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam in early February 2014.

After the peninsula's reunification with Russia in March, the Dutch museum decided against sending the artifacts to either Ukraine or Crimea, pending a decision by a competent judge or an agreement between the parties.

On October 26, 2021, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that the collection must be transferred to Ukraine. Crimean museums sent a cassation appeal against this decision to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands. On January 27, the Dutch Prosecutor General said that the decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal on the transfer of the Scythian gold to Ukraine may remain in force.