Russia wants a piece of the possible treasure on the Nazi ghost train
According to the Telegraph, Russian website Sputnik interviewed a "human rights lawyer" in regards to the rumored treasure stashed on a train of "military nature" between the Polish towns of Wroclaw and Walbrzych.
"Representatives of Russia should undoubtedly be involved in determining the value of the items discovered if the train is located," lawyer Mikhail Joffe reportedly told Sputnik.
Poland's culture minister Piotr Zuchowski spoke out against Russia's attempt to preemptively claim some of the contents on the train.
"The analysis we have conducted with our lawyers quite clearly states that if the train is found it will be owned by the State Treasury," said Poland's culture minister Piotr Zuchowski, in an interview with polish radio station Jedynka.
Zuchowski reportedly said in a news conference that if valuables are discovered on the train, the items will be "returned to the heirs of their former owners," the Telegraph reports.
Robert Singer, director of the World Jewish Congress released a statement on Friday saying, "... any items now being discovered in Poland may have been stolen from Jews before they were sent to death ... it is essential that every measure is taken to return the property to its rightful owners or to their heirs."
"We very much hope that the Polish authorities will take the appropriate action in that respect."
Poland's Nazi ghost train legend
Earlier this month, two unidentified men claimed they found a lost Second World War train which prompted military-history buffs, rail enthusiasts, and treasure hunters to search for the train.
Police spokeswoman Magdalena Koroscik told the Associated Press that another growing concern are train accidents.
People can't escape "a train that emerges from behind the rocks at 70 kph (43 mph)," the Associated Press reports.
Therefore the exact location of the 300-foot-long train is unknown except for that it is somewhere along a 13,000-foot track that winds through the Polish towns of Wroclaw and Walbrzych.
According to local folklore, the German train is believed to have vanished in 1945 with stolen gold, gems, and weapons while fleeing the Russians.
In order to secretly transport materials, the Nazis built several underground tunnels in the mountainous region of Walbrzych during the Second World War.
Despite some doubt of the train's existence, Poland has requested the army to investigate the site, according to Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, investigators in Poland have suggested that the recently discovered train "could be the first of many," the Telegraph reports.
On Friday, Zuchowski said in a news conference that he is "99% convinced" that a Nazi military train was buried near the southwestern city of Walbrzych, the BBC reports. During the same news conference, Zuchowski referred to ground-penetrating radar images which show contours of an armored train equipped with gun turrets.