The HAGUE(AFP) -The Dutch foreign ministry on Saturday announced the expulsion of several Russian diplomats and the closure of the Russian trade mission in Amsterdam, accusing Moscow of using diplomatic cover for espionage.
It was the latest development in a dispute over Russia’s failure to issue visas to Dutch diplomats working at its embassy in Moscow and its consulate in St. Petersburg.
Due to staff shortages, the consulate will be closed on Monday, but the embassy will remain open.
In a statement, the ministry said the Netherlands had repeatedly sought a solution to the dispute.
Foreign Minister Wopke Hekstra tweeted on Saturday that “Russia’s continued attempts to use its agents as a diplomatic cover for the Dutch are unacceptable.” “That’s why we limit the number of Russian diplomats in Holland.”
The ministry said Russian diplomats were asked to leave the country and given two weeks’ grace.
Hoekstra told Dutch broadcaster NOS that he expected about a dozen Russian diplomats to leave the country.
The closure of the Russian trade mission is “a response to Moscow’s continued international human rights abuses,” Hoekstra said in a separate letter to Congress.
It will remain closed “until the Russian Federation ends its violation of the ban on attacks on civilians and structures” in Ukraine, he said.
MH17 airline fatalities
Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine sparked a wave of international condemnation and sanctions, with hundreds of Russian diplomats expelled from the West and some accused of espionage. As a result, Moscow sent home dozens of Western diplomats.
Dutch media reports said the Netherlands expelled 17 Russian diplomats shortly after it invaded Ukraine last February, leaving 58 behind in the country before the announcement on Saturday.
In response, Russia has expelled 15 Dutch diplomats, and negotiations to appoint new diplomats from each country have stalled, the Dutch government said.
As a result, “the Russian embassy in The Hague will not be able to have more diplomats than the Dutch embassy in Moscow,” he said.
Tensions between the two countries were already high after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine in 2014. There were 196 Dutch people on board the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
International investigators said this month there was “strong evidence” that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally authorized the launch of the missile that shot him down.
Last year, a Dutch court found two Russians and a Ukrainian guilty of shooting down his MH17, but Russia has denied involvement in the missile launch.
Dutch media reported that the Dutch ambassador to Russia was summoned to Russia’s foreign ministry earlier this week when Moscow demanded that the Netherlands stop its “relentless” attempt to hold Russia responsible for the catastrophe.
The Russian embassy in the Netherlands has stopped accepting visitors since February 20 due to the decision of The Hague to reduce the number of Russian diplomats in the kingdom, the diplomatic mission said.
“In connection with the decision of the Dutch authorities to reduce the staff of the Russian Embassy in The Hague, starting from February 20, 2023, visitors will not be accepted according to previously issued records (except for the issuance of passports),” the embassy said on its Twitter account.
It is noted that in terms of applications for pension issues and registration of START in Russia, admission without an appointment is also temporarily suspended. At the same time, previously agreed on an individual basis, visits to serve persons with disabilities will be carried out.
The Russian diplomatic mission noted that they “regret the temporary inconvenience caused by the unfriendly actions of the authorities of the Netherlands.”
The day before, Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra announced the decision of The Hague to limit the number of Russian diplomats, about ten employees of the Russian embassy will have to leave the kingdom. He said Dutch authorities have decided to close the Russian Federation trade mission in Amsterdam from Tuesday.
As of Monday, the Dutch Consulate General in St. Petersburg will also temporarily cease functioning.
