Ukrainian Foreign Ministry sees Dutch court decision on 'Scythian gold' as Kyiv's victory
KYIV. Dec 14 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has called the decision made by the Amsterdam District Court to return to the territory of Ukraine artifacts from Crimean museums from the collection Crimea - the Golden Island in the Black Sea (the so-called 'Scythian gold') an important victory.
"It's an important victory for Ukraine. The law is on our side. Crimea is Ukraine," Ukrainian Foreign Ministry official Mariana Betsa said on Twitter on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian Culture and Information Policies Ministry said the court decision on the issue of belonging of the artifacts from the exhibit Crimea - the Golden Island in the Black Sea is based on the 1970 UNESCO convention.
"The issue of ownership of cultural values of a specific museum should be resolved in Ukraine in accordance with the current national legislation. The court decision is based on the 1970 UNESCO convention, according to which Ukraine makes decisions on taking cultural values in and out of the country," the Culture Ministry press service quoted First Deputy Minister Svitlana Fomenko, who is now in Amsterdam, as saying.
Ukrainian First Deputy Information Policy Minister Emine Jeppar, for her part, said on Facebook: "The artifacts should be returned to Ukraine based on the UNESCO treaty of 1970, which emphasizes that cultural heritage is belongs to a sovereign state. In our case, no one except for the Ukrainian state can demand and be owners of the artifacts, museums and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea [cannot do so]."
She said the court "has given a clear and strong message by also stating the fact of occupation." "There are now three months for an appeal to be filed. Let's see if it will be filed. I think that, bearing in mind the absence of chances, the Russian Federation will not want this 'pleasure' to last," Jeppar said, adding that Ukraine has to pay part of the costs of transporting and storing the artifacts.
It was reported earlier on Wednesday that the Amsterdam District Administrative Court had made a decision that artifacts from Crimean museums from the collection Crimea - the Golden Island in the Black Sea should be returned to Ukraine.
According to media reports, the court decision does not mean that the artifacts will return to Ukraine immediately. The judges have decided that the gold will remain in the Allard Pierson Museum for another three months, the period allowed for an appeal.
