Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
World

Netherlands orders Russian embassy to downsize, Moscow says it will respond

The Dutch government on Saturday said it would close its consulate in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and that it would limit the number of Russian diplomats allowed at the Russian embassy in The Hague.

"Russia keeps trying to secretly get intelligence agents into the Netherlands under cover of diplomacy. We cannot and shall not allow that," Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said in a statement.

"At the same time Russia refuses to give visas to Dutch diplomats who would work at the consulate in St Petersburg or the embassy in Moscow."

In Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry said it would respond to the move, RIA news agency reported.

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 those at the Dutch embassy in Moscow.

"A number of diplomats shall therefore have to leave the country within two weeks," The Foreign Affairs ministry said in a statement, without giving a specific number.

The Dutch government also ordered the Russian trade office in Amsterdam to close by Tuesday.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer and David Ljunggren; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Jonathan Oatis)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.