Russia will limit consulting activity in the Netherlands
Shortly after anticipating “reciprocal action” in response, Moscow finally announced this Sunday that the consular section has begun to work in a “special mode of operation.”
Therefore, it “temporarily suspends the receipt without an appointment on issues of pensions and registration of certificates for returning to Russia”The consular section of the Russian embassy in the Netherlands said in a statement.
“The additional procedure for the reception of citizens will be announced later,” added the note, the DPA news agency reported.
Despite the dispute, the Dutch foreign minister confirmed that the ambassador in Moscow will remain in his post and his Russian counterpart in the Netherlands will also be able to stay.
“It is important to keep embassies open as a channel of communication, even now,” Hoekstra said after acknowledging that relations between the two countries “are at a minimum.”
The minister also specified that the closure of the consulate in St. Petersburg is intended to be a temporary measure. If enough people are available, the consulate will reopen, he said.
How are relations between Russia and the Netherlands
Relations between the Netherlands and Russiaa seriously deteriorated after a Malaysia Airlines plane crashed in 2014 in an area of eastern Ukraine where there was fighting between the Army and pro-Russian Ukrainian separatists.
Most of the 283 dead passengers were Dutch, because the plane was going from Amsterdam to Malaysia. All 15 crew members also died.
In 2016, a Dutch court said that the plane was shot down by Ukrainian rebels with a surface-to-air missile, and last November it sentenced two Russians and a Ukrainian in absentia, considering it proven that they were the ones who delivered the missile to the separatists.
Relations between the Netherlands and Ukraine suffered further from the invasion of Ukraine launched by Russia on February 24, 2022. Shortly thereafter, the Netherlands expelled 17 Russian diplomats suspected of espionage. In response, Russia expelled 15 Dutch diplomats.
Source: Ambito
