Foreign affairs minister Emil Hurezeanu had talks with his Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, on Monday on the theft of the Dacian treasure items from the Drents Museum in Assen, Netherlands.

„The Romanian foreign affairs minister insisted on the importance of the stolen artifacts being recovered and emphasized their significance in Romanian culture. The two ministers have agreed to cooperate very closely at the operational and diplomatic level,” the Romanian Foreign Ministry said on the X platform.

Emil Hurezeanu is attending the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.

The iconic golden helmet of Cotofenesti, dated to the 5th-4th centuries BC, as well as three Dacian gold bracelets from Sarmizegetusa Regia, dating from the second half of the 1st century BC, some of the most important artifacts of Romania’s national heritage, were stolen in a „particularly serious incident”, in which the robbers used an explosive device to break open the only exterior wall of the museum building, the Ministry of Culture announced.

All the stolen pieces had been insured in accordance with Romanian legislation and international standards on the organization of exhibitions.

On Saturday, the Prosecutor General’s Office informed that a criminal investigation had been opened ex officio in the case of the theft of several prized Dacian treasure artifacts exhibited at the Drents Museum.

Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu also announced on Sunday the organization of a crisis cell at the Government level for the efficient coordination of the activities to recover the four stolen treasure items.

AGERPRES