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Netherlands Orders Russian Embassy To Downsize And Closes St. Petersburg Consulate


The exterior of the Russian Embassy in The Hague (file photo)
The exterior of the Russian Embassy in The Hague (file photo)

The Dutch government on February 18 said it would close its consulate in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, and that it would limit the number of Russian diplomats allowed at the Russian Embassy in The Hague. "Russia keeps trying to secretly get intelligence agents into the Netherlands under cover of diplomacy. We cannot and shall not allow that," Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said in a statement. "At the same time, Russia refuses to give visas to Dutch diplomats who would work at the consulate in St. Petersburg or the embassy in Moscow." To read the original story from Reuters, click here.

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