The Dutch government on Saturday ordered the expulsion of several Russian diplomats for “Russia’s continued attempts to place intelligence operatives in the Netherlands under diplomatic cover”.
The Netherlands also announced that it would close its consulate general in St. Petersburg on Monday and the Russian trade office in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
These measures are the latest development in the ongoing negotiations on visas for diplomats: the Netherlands expelled 17 Russian diplomats last March on espionage grounds following the Russian invasion of Ukraine – after which Russia expelled 15 Dutch diplomats.
“Negotiations with Russia on the conditions for sending diplomats to diplomatic posts have so far come to nothing,” the government said in a statement on Saturday. “Russia continues to try to surreptitiously place intelligence officers in the Netherlands as diplomats. At the same time, Russia refuses to issue visas to Dutch diplomats for the staff of the Consulate General in St. Petersburg and the Embassy in Moscow.
He described the situation as “unacceptable” and “untenable”. The Dutch government added that it was “important to keep embassies open as a channel of communication, even now that relations with Russia are more difficult than ever”.
Diplomats now have two weeks to leave the country.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it would “give an appropriate response” to the Dutch decision, according to a report by Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
Politico
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