The location of the Russian consulate in Maastricht has been closed. That is the direct result of statements about the war in Ukraine by Honorary Consul General Constantine van Vloten.
That is what mayor of Maastricht Annemarie Penn-te Strake know in a letter to the city council.
Expressing disapproval
“As the Municipality of Maastricht, we immediately sent a letter to the consul to express our disapproval”, Penn-te Strake writes. that such official statements absolutely do not fit in our city.”
bonbonniere
After the statements, the municipality contacted the main tenant of the Bonbonnière, from which it appeared that the building is only used as a postal address by the consulate. “There had been no question of a rental agreement for some time, so that Mr Van Vloten actually gave the impression that he was using the Bonbonnière without right.”
This situation has come to an end. The address has since been removed from the consulate’s website. As a result, the Russian consulate is no longer located in Maastricht.
‘Done nothing wrong’
Van Vloten (70) serves as consul of the Russian Federation in North Brabant and Limburg. Since 2014, the consulate in the Bonbonnière has represented the interests of Russian nationals in both provinces.
Earlier, the consul told L1 that Putin has done nothing wrong. “I’m sorry he didn’t do it sooner,” he said of the Russian president’s actions in Ukraine.
Foreign Affairs
In addition to the letter to the consul, the municipality of Maastricht, together with the provincial authorities of North Brabant and Limburg, sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, “in order to draw attention to the position that the honorary consul has taken.”
daub
The Russian consulate in Maastricht was repeatedly defaced with slogans against the war, such as ‘blood on your hands’. Van Vloten did not want to comment on the graffiti.
Also read: Russian consulate in Maastricht again daubed
Watch L1’s interview with Van Vloten in February here: