Moscow | Russia announced Wednesday the start of an investigation to estimate its damage after the decision of the Dutch justice to return to Ukraine archaeological treasures of Crimea disputed between Moscow and Kiev.
The Russian Investigative Committee, in charge of the main criminal cases, said in a statement that it will make “an appropriate assessment of the violation of Russia’s interests” in this case which has been going on since 2014.
This procedure will be under the responsibility of its branch in Crimea and will aim to establish, in collaboration with Russian diplomacy, the circumstances “of the non-return” of this archaeological treasure.
The Amsterdam Court of Appeal on Tuesday ordered the return to Ukraine of a priceless collection of archaeological objects, loaned by Crimea to a museum in Amsterdam before the annexation of this peninsula by Moscow and detained from in the Netherlands.
This rich collection, made up of nearly 2,000 objects dating from the second century AD until the early Middle Ages, had been temporarily transferred to the Allard Pierson museum by four Crimean museums shortly before Russia’s annexation in March 2014.
The four Crimean museums therefore launched a lawsuit to force the Allard Pierson museum to return the collection.
In 2016, a Dutch court ruled that these objects should be returned to Ukraine, stressing that Crimea was not considered an autonomous state. Crimean museums appealed against this decision.
The case could now be taken to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.
If Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday welcomed a “victory” for his country, the Russian Investigation Committee said on Wednesday that the Dutch justice had acted with regard to “the political situation” only and the Russian ministry of Culture denounced a violation of international law.