diff --git a/platform/platform-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/vfs/VfsUtil.java b/platform/platform-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/vfs/VfsUtil.java
index 39d5c79fcbab..34501152b108 100644
--- a/platform/platform-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/vfs/VfsUtil.java
+++ b/platform/platform-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/vfs/VfsUtil.java
@@ -503,7 +503,6 @@ public class VfsUtil extends VfsUtilCore {
         while (src.getParent() != commonAncestor) {
           buffer.append("..").append(separatorChar);
           src = src.getParent();
-          assert src != null;
         }
       }
       buffer.append(getRelativePath(dst, commonAncestor, separatorChar));