"Given the difficulty of the case, an extended hearing on the issue will take place tomorrow in the court. The decision will be made on the necessity to submit additional documents over the legal opinions provided by the Crimean museums. Accordingly, the time of the final ruling may be postponed," the Russian ministry said in a statement.
Earlier on Wednesday, the first hearing of the case took place. The Dutch judges are expected to establish the belonging of Scythian gold artifacts either to the Crimean museums, or Ukraine. The artifacts were exhibited at the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam when the Crimean crisis erupted.
The verdict on returning the collection of the Scythian gold to Crimea or Ukraine from the Netherlands is expected on December 14, lawyer Anastasia Sivitskaya told RIA Novosti earlier in the day.
The case was initiated two years ago, however, there have been no hearings as the parties tried to settle the dispute through the pre-trial process. Initially, it was a dispute between the Crimean museums and the Allard Pierson Museum. Later, Ukraine also claimed its rights on the archaeological collection as it regards Crimea as its territory.
