Putin demands apology for Russian diplomat beating in Hague

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded an apology from the Netherlands over the alleged assault and forcible detention by police of a Russian diplomat in The Hague over the weekend, RIA Novosti reported.

Russia has submitted a note of protest over the treatment of Dmitry Borodin, calling it a breach of diplomatic regulations.

“This is a crude violation of the Vienna Convention. We await clarifications, apologies and the punishment of those guilty,” Putin said, speaking from Bali, where he is attending an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Specific details about the attack on Dmitry Borodin, a senior diplomat previously posted in Belgium, Luxembourg and several African countries, remain unclear.

Russian state television Rossiya-24 reported that local police forced their way into Borodin’s apartment, assaulted him, and then held him at a police station for several hours without explanation.

The spat marks another awkward turn in relations between Russia and the Netherlands, which have been tested by the seizure by Russian authorities of a Dutch-registered icebreaker belonging to Greenpeace, and the subsequent imprisonment of all the people on board.

The Netherlands described the seizure of the ship on Saturday as illegal, and the Dutch government has said that it has initiated legal proceedings against Russia at the United Nations over the incident.