Saturday the government of the Netherlands he said that “a certain number” of Russian diplomats working at the Hague embassy will have to leave the country within two weeks due to “Russia’s continued attempts to place secret agents in the Netherlands under the cover of a diplomatic post”, as he explained Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra.
Russia’s continued attempts to place intelligence officers into the Netherlands under diplomatic cover are unacceptable. That is why we are limiting the number of Russian diplomats in the Netherlands. 1/2
— Wopke Hoekstra (@WBHoekstra) February 18, 2023
It was not specified how many Russian diplomats will have to leave, but as many as are currently present at the Dutch embassy in Moscow will have to stay, which are fewer than the Netherlands would like: Hoekstra said Russia refuses to give visas to Dutch diplomats that they should work at the Dutch consulate in St. Petersburg or the embassy in Moscow. On Monday 20 February, the Dutch government will temporarily close the consulate due to a shortage of staff due to Russian obstructions. The next day he will have to close the Russian chamber of commerce for the Netherlands, which is based in Amsterdam, again by order of the Dutch government.
The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted to the Dutch government’s announcement by telling the Russian news agency TASS which will give «an appropriate answer».
The Dutch and Russian governments have been discussing visas for diplomats for about a year, ever since in March 2022, after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Netherlands expelled 17 Russian diplomats believed to be secret agents and in response Russia expelled 15 Dutch diplomats.