Moscow considers the statements of the Dutch authorities regarding the expulsion of the Dutch journalist Tom Wennink from Russia provocative, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The Office explains its position by the fact that “all factual information has been communicated.” Earlier, the Dutch Foreign Ministry called the expulsion decision unacceptable.
“We regard the statements of the Netherlands as provocative, given that all the factual information both to the journalist and to the official The Hague has been brought,” TASS quotes the position of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Tom Vennink is expelled from Russia for two administrative violations. The journalist himself explained that we are talking about incorrectly informing the authorities about his whereabouts in 2019 and 2020. According to him, in 2020 he entered the region in the north of the country without the permission of the governor, and a year earlier he untimely announced his whereabouts in Moscow. For both cases, the man paid a fine. The Dutch Foreign Ministry said that it is “unacceptable for them if a journalist is forced to leave the country against his will.”
According to Russian law, foreigners must obtain permission to enter a number of territories. Among them are the territories of closed military towns, territories with regulated visits for foreigners, the border zone, facilities and organizations of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, and others.
.