The Netherlands will once again expel a number of Russian diplomats from the country. Minister Wopke Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs, CDA) has announced Saturday. The cabinet made that decision because Russia continues to “secretly” try to station intelligence officers in The Hague as diplomats. Hoekstra says that the Netherlands cannot and will not allow that. “At the same time, it is important to keep the embassies open as a communication channel, even now that relations with Russia are more difficult than ever.”
The government has decided that there may not be more Russian diplomats in the Netherlands than Dutch diplomats in Russia. As a result, a number of Russian diplomats have now had to leave the Netherlands. They have two weeks to do that. It is not known how many people are involved. The Russian trade office in Amsterdam will also have to close from Tuesday.
Last year, the Netherlands expelled seventeen Russian spies, a month after the invasion of Ukraine. Moscow then expelled fifteen Dutch diplomats from the country. Since then, negotiations have been going on about visas for new diplomats, but those talks have come to naught, Hoekstra says on Saturday. Because Moscow continues to refuse to issue visas to new Dutch diplomats, there is too little staff available at the consulate general in Saint Petersburg. That is why it will temporarily close from Monday. The Dutch embassy in Moscow will remain open.
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