MOSCOW. Oct 4 (Interfax) - The statement by the Dutch defense minister on Russia's involvement in an attempted cyber attack against the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) invites some questions, Leonid Levin, the head of the Russian State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies, and Communication, said on Thursday.
"Amid the string of groundless accusations of cyber attacks and the use of chemical weapons leveled at Russia, the Dutch defense minister's statement looks like a populist attempt to get onto the hot news agenda," Levin told journalists.
"For cyber crimes, just as for other types of crimes, in the event they are recorded, certain procedural steps are envisaged, including detention and investigation, but not the immediate expulsion the Dutch have declared," he said.
"It is also not obvious why this event was not made public for nearly half a year," Levin said.
"Russia has repeatedly voiced its willingness to work together on cyber security matters," so "the relevant Dutch agencies should have immediately called on their Russian counterparts to conduct an impartial and efficient investigation," he said.
Dutch Minister of Defense Ank Bijleveld said earlier on Thursday that four Russians attempted to commit a cyber attack against the OPCW.