19 Feb. () –
The consular section of the Russian Embassy in the Netherlands announced this Sunday that it will limit its operations in response to the series of decisions taken on Saturday by the Dutch government after accusing Moscow of infiltrating spies into the Russian diplomatic corps.
The Dutch Foreign Minister, Wopke Hoekstra, announced in this regard the expulsion of a dozen Russian diplomats, the closure of the Russian trade office in Amsterdam and the closure of the Dutch consulate in Saint Petersburg.
After announcing shortly after the adoption of “reciprocal measures” in response, Moscow has finally announced that the consular section has started to work in a “special mode of operation” by which it “temporarily suspends reception without prior appointment on pension issues and registration of certificates to return to Russia”.
“The additional procedure for the reception of citizens will be announced later,” the consulate added in a statement collected by the Russian agency TASS.
However, the Dutch minister confirmed that the ambassador in Moscow will remain in his post and his Russian colleague 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.
