The Dutch government believes that Russia is increasingly turning away from the international rule of law, but still wants to maintain contacts with Moscow. This is stated by Foreign Minister Stef Blok (VVD) in a memo to parliament about the new Dutch Russia policy. In it, he strongly criticizes Russia.
The letter describes how the Netherlands intends to shape the relationship with Russia in the coming years, while the two countries currently have an extremely cold relationship. The current relationship originated precisely in 2013, the Russia-Netherlands friendship year.
Less than seven years ago, President Putin and King Willem-Alexander were still sharing a beer, but shortly afterwards many things went wrong between the two countries. From human rights violations to the arrest of the second-in-command at the Russian embassy. Then followed the Russian annexation of Crimea, the war in eastern Ukraine, MH17, and Syria. Since then, the Netherlands has struggled with how to deal with Russia.
In his letter to the House of Representatives, Blok says that Russia is trying to pit the member states of the European Union against each other and weaken NATO. The Netherlands will adopt a foreign policy combining "pressure and selective cooperation." The Netherlands wants to remain in contact with the country because there are still shared interests, such as combating terrorism, organized crime, and the proliferation of nuclear weapons, but also countering climate change.
In 2015, the then cabinet also issued a policy letter on Russia. At that time, it was stated that Russia appeared to be openly turning away from the international rule of law, human rights, and European security. This trend has continued in recent years, according to Blok.
The new Dutch Russia strategy was drawn up at the request of the House of Representatives. Blok points among other things to Russian espionage activities and the spreading of disinformation via digital means. For example, Russian hackers attempted to hack the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague in 2018.
Particularly because of the investigation into Russian involvement in the downing of MH17, the Netherlands is, according to Blok, 'an interesting target' for Russian espionage.