Do Western countries want to recruit Russian diplomats? Moscow raises this accusation and summons the Dutch ambassador. Allegedly, the Netherlands participated in "illegitimate actions" by British intelligence.
Because of alleged Western attempts to recruit Russian diplomats in the Netherlands, Moscow has summoned the Dutch ambassador. Moscow "resolutely protested against the attempt on October 20 to recruit the military attaché of the Russian embassy in The Hague by a representative of the British secret service," the Russian Foreign Ministry said, describing "such actions" as "unacceptable." Moscow accused the Netherlands of participating in "these illegitimate acts".
The ministry accused Western intelligence agencies of having carried out several similar "provocations" against Russian diplomats in the Netherlands in recent years. In December 2018, US intelligence officials approached a Russian diplomat from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) "in a park". The following December, CIA agents at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport tried to "encourage" an attaché from the Russian embassy to "cooperate," the ministry said.
In another case in April, Dutch intelligence officials tried to recruit three Russian diplomats who had previously been declared undesirable before being deported. In July 2020, "surveillance equipment was discovered in the car of a (Russian) embassy diplomat in The Hague," it said.
Russia urged the Dutch authorities "to refrain from these hostile actions, which are leading to a further deterioration in bilateral relations." The Hague should "take comprehensive measures to prevent such incidents in the future," it said.
Russia's military offensive in Ukraine had led to a wave of international sanctions. As a result, hundreds of Russian diplomats were expelled from Western countries. Some of them are accused of espionage. In response, Moscow expelled dozens of Western diplomats from the country.
