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Amsterdam Hermitage museum breaks ties with famed Hermitage in St. Petersburg

A view shows Palace embankment and the State Hermitage Museum before the architectural lights' partial switching off, introduced to save the city budget during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Saint Petersburg, Russia May 3, 2020. Picture taken May 3, 2020. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov

The Amsterdam Hermitage, a museum of Russian art in Amsterdam that assembled its collection in cooperation with the famed State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, said on Thursday it was "severing ties" with Russia.

"Due to our carefully built relationship ... we had access to one of the world's most famous art collections that we could use to complement our exhibitions," the Dutch museum said in a statement.

It said it had tried to remain politically neutral but "the recent attack by Russia on Ukraine means that neutrality is no longer tenable".

The museum said it management and supervisory boards had made the decision to end the 30 year cooperation between the two museums but hoped ties may one day be restored if there are "changes in Russia".

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Alison Williams)

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