Ukrainian Culture Minister Yevhen Nishchuk has said that Ukraine's representatives for litigation over the so-called "Scythian gold" have difficulties getting Dutch visas, which could be Russia's doing.

The minister noted that the court hearing on the issue of the return of the exhibits from the Netherlands to Ukraine will take place on October 5.

"There are very many obstacles up to obstruction. I do not want to tell everything now, but there problems with getting visas, difficulties related directly to the stay of Ukrainian representatives in the Netherlands. The Russian Federation has actively engaged in this process, involving its special services, I believe," Nishchuk said at briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.

He added that the Ukrainian delegation at the trial includes First Deputy Minister of Culture Svitlana Fomenko and Director General of the National Museum of Ukrainian Decorative Folk Art Liudmyla Strokova. Meanwhile, Strokova still has no visa and the minister intends to discuss this issue with the Ukrainian ambassador to the Netherlands on Monday.

As reported, the exhibition 'Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea' opened in the Allard Pierson Museum at Amsterdam University in early February 2014. It was composed of collections from five museums, of which one is located in Kyiv and four in Crimea.

The exhibit displayed archeological artifacts, including over 500 artifacts made of Scythian gold, a ceremonial helmet, precious stones, swards, shields, and household items of ancient Greeks and Scythians. Among the most valuable displays from the collection of the Central Taurida Museum are objects dating back to the late Scythian period, including a Scythian pavilion cap in the form of a gryphon, a Scythian bronze pan and horse decorations and vessels in the form of sheep from the Neizats Necropolis.

The Netherlands did not recognize Crimea's annexation by Russia which occurred after the exhibition was opened. This sparked a dispute where the collection should go after the exhibition ends.

On September 10, 2014, the Russian Culture Ministry said Scythian gold items from Kyiv museums had been returned to the Ukrainian capital, while items from the Crimean museums remained in the Netherlands following a combined exhibition in Amsterdam.

The first formal meeting was held in a court in Amsterdam on January 21 within the framework of litigation where Russia-occupied Crimean demanded the return of the Scythian gold.

Ukraine's official position is that "the exhibits cannot be returned to occupied territory temporarily out of Ukraine's control, and must be handed over directly to Ukraine."

The court hearing of Ukraine's lawsuit to the Allard Pierson Museum is scheduled for October 5 at the District Court of Amsterdam. Ukraine's interests in court will be represented by the law firm Bergh Stoop & Sanders NV.