Give it 2 weeks, the Netherlands orders Russian diplomats to leave

AMSTERDAM – Government Dutch said that “a number” of diplomats Russia have to leave the country. Amsterdam accuses Moscow of smuggling spies into a country that is home to international agencies including the International Criminal Court and global chemical weapons watchdog.

Saturday’s announcement is the latest twist in a diplomatic row between the two countries that began shortly after Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago sparked war on Europe’s eastern side.

“Despite many attempts by the Netherlands to find a solution, Russia continues to try to get intelligence officers into the Netherlands under diplomatic cover,” Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said in a statement.

“We cannot and will not allow that,” he added as quoted from Al JazeeraSunday (19/2/2023).

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He added that it remains important to keep the embassy open as a channel of communication, even now that relations with Russia are more difficult than ever.

Russian diplomats were given two weeks to leave the country. A Russian trading office in Amsterdam was ordered to close on Tuesday.

The Dutch government said it had decided to limit the number of diplomats at the Russian embassy in The Hague to match the number of diplomats at the Dutch embassy in Moscow.

As well as accusing Russia of trying to send spies, the Dutch government also said Moscow refused to grant visas to the country’s diplomats to serve as staff at the State Windmills consulate in St Petersburg and the embassy in the Russian capital.