(Hague Comprehensive) The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it would expel many Russian diplomats and ordered the closure of the Russian Trade Office in the Russian Russian Amsterdam, accusing Moscow's use of diplomatic cover to cover spy activities.
The Dutch Foreign Minister Hokstra said on Saturday (February 18): "Although the Netherlands tried to find a solution many times, Russia continued to try to let the intelligence staff enter the Netherlands ... We (the Netherlands) we (Netherlands)Can't or allow it. "
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs also announced that the Consulate General in St. Petersburg will be closed on February 20, but the Dutch Embassy will continue to open to retain the communication channels between the two countries.
In response to this, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 18th that it would respond properly.
According to Dutch media reports, in March last year, the Netherlands expelled 17 Russian diplomats on the grounds of suspected spy activities.In response, Russia subsequently expelled 15 Dutch diplomats.
It is understood that the relationship between the two countries has fallen to the freezing point, which is related to the 2014 Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 being shot down over Ukraine.
At the time, the aircraft flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur contained a total of 196 Dutch citizens.
Later, after Russia initiated Ukraine, the Netherlands expelled 17 Russian diplomats.Prior to the announcement of the latest deportation order, there were still 58 Russian diplomats in the Netherlands.
