Russia-Netherlands relations have been in limbo for years because of the Dutch side's intransigence and unwillingness to cooperate, Russian ambassador to the country, Alexander Shulgin, told Sputnik on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th June, 2020) Russia-Netherlands relations have been in limbo for years because of the Dutch side's intransigence and unwillingness to cooperate, Russian ambassador to the country, Alexander Shulgin, told Sputnik on Friday.
"Regrettably, the political dialogue between Russia and the Netherlands has been practically frozen in recent years. High-level official meetings are not currently taking place. The Netherlands is the one responsible for it, as it discontinued the cooperation with Russia five years ago," the ambassador said.
The diplomat cited accusations of cyberattacks hurled at Moscow by Amsterdam as well as a trend among Dutch politicians to portray Russia as a threat to the West.
"The cancellation of a visit of Dutch parliamentarians to Russia in February 2020 is one of clearly distinctive steps. We have always believed that direct inter-parliamentary contacts and dialogue between MPs can help our countries to overcome the existing differences and to understand better each other. The restriction of such contacts is a terrible mistake," Shulgin lamented.
Nevertheless, Russia has informed the Netherlands about its readiness to cooperate in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic as the Netherlands has been one of the hardest-hit countries.
The relations between the two countries soured following the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, coming to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam, in eastern Ukraine. The hearings on the incident are currently underway in the Hague. Moscow has been consistently critical of the Dutch-led investigation, citing its alleged bias and unwillingness to grant Russia access to the probe.
Earlier in the year, the Dutch government accused Russia's military intelligence service of conducting large scale cyberattacks against Georgia in 2019. Previously, it made a similar accusation regarding alleged plans by Russia's intelligence to hack the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons in 2018. Moscow has denied both claims.
