The Russian nationals who were detained in the Hague and expelled from the Netherlands had diplomatic passports as they were on a working trip to test cybersecurity at the Russian diplomatic missions in the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th October, 2018) The Russian nationals who were detained in the Hague and expelled from the Netherlands had diplomatic passports as they were on a working trip to test cybersecurity at the Russian diplomatic missions in the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.
Last Thursday, Dutch Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld said that four Russian citizens had been expelled from the Netherlands on April 13 on suspicion of an attempted cyberattack on the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), noting that the suspects had diplomatic passports.
"There was nothing secret about the trip of the group of Russian technical specialists. It was a completely open and routine working trip. The members of the group indeed had diplomatic passports as it is common in international practice," the ministry said at a press briefing.
"The technical equipment seized from the Russian experts at the time of their detention was intended for analyzing the security of computer networks at the Russian diplomatic missions in light of the frequent hacking attacks on Russian state institutions," the ministry stressed.
