The mayor’s office received complaints from local residents and some political forces, and the consul himself allegedly received threats after he called the Russian invasion a “peacekeeping mission.”
The Honorary Consul of Russia in the Netherlands Konstantin van Vloten was forced to leave his residence – the castle of Strithagen in Landgraaf in the south of the country, where he has placed his consulate since the beginning of February. On Thursday, March 2, De Volkskrant reports.
Before that, van Vloten worked in Maastricht, but shortly after the start of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, in an interview with local media, he called the Russian invasion a “peace mission.” After that, the consulate was destroyed by activists, and Ukrainian refugees in Maastricht opposed van Vloten.
In February 2023, van Vloten established a consulate at his castle in Landgraaf.
Despite the fact that last week many Russian diplomats were ordered to leave the Netherlands and the Russian trade office in Amsterdam was also closed, the Dutch Foreign Ministry officially gave permission for the consulate to move to Landgraaf.
But then van Vloten said that the owner of the castle was “blackmailed”, and therefore he will do his work “online” for the time being. However, according to the Vienna Convention, which governs diplomatic relations between countries, an honorary consul must also have a physical address.
Soon after, unknown persons allegedly threatened to destroy the property, and the Landgraaf City Hall received complaints from local residents and some political forces. Ultimately, “the Russian ambassador decided that the consulate would no longer be based in the castle.”
70-year-old Konstantin van Vloten owns a restaurant business in Russia. As De Volkskrant notes, he previously boasted a written thank you from Putin, and also ordered himself to be called a baron after he obtained a title of nobility in Croatia.
Van Vloten now lives in Belgium, where he owns a castle in Sint-Truiden near the border with the Netherlands.
Recall that on February 18, the Netherlands expelled Russian spy diplomats. It has been reported that Moscow is secretly appointing intelligence officers as diplomats.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.