MOSCOW, October 18 (RIA Novosti) – Russia said Friday that it expects the Netherlands to take “exhaustive” measures to find burglars who broke into the apartment of a Russian embassy official in The Hague in an incident that has become the latest flashpoint in recent diplomatic bickering between the two countries.
Traces of a break-in were discovered Thursday evening at the apartment of an employee of the Russian Embassy who was away on holiday, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“We are counting on the Dutch authorities to take exhaustive steps to establish who was guilty of this violation of the law,” the ministry said in a statement on its website.
Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans has expressed “regret” over the break-in, according to reports in Dutch media. Dutch police said in a statement Friday that it appeared to be an ordinary theft.
The break-in is the most recent in a series of apparently tit-for-tat diplomatic incidents between Russia and the Netherlands.
Moscow expressed its regret earlier this week when a senior Dutch diplomat was tied up and attacked in his apartment in the center of the Russian capital.
That attack in turn echoed an incident on October 5 when Dmitry Borodin, a senior Russian diplomat in The Hague, was allegedly beaten in his apartment before being briefly detained by Dutch police. The Netherlands subsequently apologized to Russia over the detention.
Tension has also been simmering between the two countries after armed Russian border guards seized a Dutch-registered Greenpeace ship last month following a protest on an Arctic oil platform, arresting all 30 people on board and charging them with piracy. The Dutch government launched legal arbitration proceedings against Russia last week over the charges.
Russia and the Netherlands are currently celebrating a year-long festival highlighting the cultural links between the two countries. Timmermans said this week that, despite the recent friction, a planned visit by the Dutch royal family to Russia next month as part of the festivities would still go ahead, Dutch media reported.
Updated with Russian Foreign Ministry Comments, and recast throughout with new headline
