UPDATE - Russia-Netherlands Dialogue 'Frozen' Due To Amsterdam's Refusal To Cooperate - Ambassador

UPDATE - Russia-Netherlands Dialogue 'Frozen' Due to Amsterdam's Refusal to Cooperate - Ambassador

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.

Notably, Shulgin praised trade relations between the two countries, which have been developing despite political disagreements, saying that the Netherlands was second only to China and Germany in terms of foreign trade with Russia.

"Following the official statistics provided by the Russian Customs Authorities Russian-Dutch bilateral trade in 2019 reached $48.8 billion ... According to the information of the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics, Russia is the 10th main trade partners of the Netherlands, while its share in the Dutch foreign trade turnover amounts to 2,5%," he said, highlighting machinery, equipment and means of transport, chemicals, and agricultural raw materials among the Dutch exports to Russia.

The diplomat addressed cooperation in energy as well.

"For example, in 2020 Shell and Gazprom Neft have expanded their joint venture Salym Petroleum Development (SPD) by acquiring new licenses for exploration and production of conventional hydrocarbon deposits in West Siberia. SPD is the largest onshore investment project involving foreign capital in the Russian oil industry so far," the ambassador said.

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.