Dutch tell Russia to wait for apology after diplomat held

THE HAGUE: The Netherlands will say sorry for detaining a Russian diplomat in The Hague if his right to immunity was breached, the Dutch foreign ministry said Tuesday amid an escalating spat between the two countries. President Vladimir Putin has slammed the detention over the weekend of Russian diplomat Dmitry Borodin as “the most gross breach of the Vienna Convention,” and demanded an apology. Dutch police allegedly raided the Borodin’s apartment and beat him up before taking him to a police station for questioning on accusations of mistreating his children, the Russian foreign ministry said. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations gives diplomats immunity from arrest.Ties between Russia and the Netherlands deteriorated sharply after Russian investigators last week charged 30 crew members of Greenpeace’s Dutch-flagged Arctic Sunrise ship with piracy over a protest against Arctic oil drilling. The Netherlands hit back by taking legal action to free the activists who face up to 15 years in jail. Dutch foreign ministry spokesman Thijs van Son confirmed that the diplomat had been detained and said police were investigating what happened.