MOSCOW. Jan 29 (Interfax) - Russia informed the Netherlands well in advance that it was unadvisable to include Dutch parliamentarian Sjoerd Sjoerdsma in a parliamentary delegation planning to visit Russia and sees the decision to cancel the visit as an act of provocation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"The Dutch side was informed well in advance that Sjoerdsma's inclusion in the lineup of the parliamentary delegation planning to visit Russia on February 25-27, 2020 at the invitation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly was unadvisable," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.
The warning was voiced during a meeting with the Dutch charge d'affaires ad interim to Russia at the Russian Foreign Ministry on January 14, it said.
"It is clear now what the Dutch parliamentarians expected while deciding to include Sjoerdsma in their delegation. Despite our warnings, they deliberately resorted to this provocation while perfectly understanding all possible consequences," it said.