The Netherlands has expelled Russian diplomats and announced the closure of its consulate in Saint Petersburg

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands, Wopke Hoekstraannounced on Saturday that expel a dozen Russian diplomats in the country, in collaboration with closure of the Russian trade office in Amsterdam and the cessation of activities of the Dutch consulate in Saint Petersburg.

Diplomats have two weeks to leave the country, as the minister detailed in statements to the media The Telegraphwhile the Amsterdam office will close on February 21 and the Russian headquarters on February 20.

The measurement is based on a complaint against Moscow in which he is accused of having introduces spies into the country through its diplomatic corps and after what Russia will refuse to grant visas to Dutch diplomats for its embassy in the capital.

So, again, the multiple diplomatic tensions between the two nations, which led the relationship to reach a “minimum point” since the invasion of Ukraine began almost a year ago and, primarily, after a Dutch court convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian in absentia in November for their role in the downing of flight MH17 July 17, 2014.

Hoekstra pointed out that Russia insists on this practice of disguising its spies as diplomats, which he considers a “unacceptable” solution and an indication that Relations with the Kremlin “are more difficult than ever”. “We cannot tolerate it and we will not allow it,” he commented, adding that “what is right is right. It must be said that normal relations with Russia have long been non-existent.”

However, this is not the first time that the Netherlands have taken such a decision against Moscow. In 2022 had already been finalized expulsion of 17 other Russian diplomats who, according to the intelligence service, were in fact spies in the service of Vladimir Poutine. In response, fourteen Dutch citizens were also forced to leave Russia.

In any case, beyond these measures, the Minister specified that the ambassador in Moscow will remain in post, as will his Russian counterpart in the Netherlands since, he assured, “It is important to keep embassies open as a channel of communication, even now”.

He also explained that the closure of the consulate in Saint Petersburg is meant to be only a temporary measure until there are again enough people available to organize its reopening.

The announcement was also made hours after it took place at Munich, Germanythere Security Conference which brought together dozens of diplomats from around the world and focused on the coming year of Russia’s war in Ukraine and ways to strengthen kyiv and end the conflict.

In this sense, this Saturday the head of the I WILL TAKE, Jens Stoltenbergasked those present “Give Ukraine what it needs to win” the conflict warrior and for “to rule as a sovereign and independent nation in Europe”. Volodimir ZelenskyFor his part, he asks the allies to speed up the sending of resources.

“We must hurry. We need speed: speed of our agreements, speed of our deliveries… speed of discussions to limit Russian potential. There is no alternative to speed because speed is what life depends on.”delcaro.

Stoltenberg, in turn, pointed out that “Putin is not planning peace, he is planning more war” and that there is “no indication that he changed his ambitions” by mobilizing “hundreds of thousands of troops” and seizing “more weapons from authoritarian countries like Iran and North Korea” .

(With information from Europa Press and AFP)

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