When Ron van Dartel agreed to take up the post of Dutch ambassador to Russia he thought it would be the perfect ending to his career. Eighteen months later, he concedes he might have been optimistic.

“If we look at the relationship between the Netherlands and Russia, we’re further apart than I could have ever imagined,” he said recently in Moscow.

When Van Dartel first arrived Moscow in 2013 it was the tail-end of a much-hyped year of collaboration between the Netherlands and Russia, celebrating 400 years of diplomatic ties between the countries.

Now relations between the two could not be worse after a series of disastrous incidents culminating in the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 with mostly Dutch citizens on board.

Arctic sunrise

It started in September when a Greenpeace ship sailing under a Dutch flag was seized by Russian border guards and its crew imprisoned after a protest at a Gazprom oil rig in the Arctic. In a sign of heightening tensions, the Netherlands took Russia to the International Tribunal for breaching the law of the sea.

Several weeks later Russian diplomat Dmitry Borodin was detained in the Hague for several hours by Dutch police, causing outrage among Russian politicians who accused the Netherlands of breaching the Geneva Convention.

And just little over a week after that, Dutch diplomat Onno Elderenbosch was attacked in his Moscow home by two assailants in an assault many considered retaliatory.

“For centuries [we’ve had] a colourful, multifaceted relationship, says Van Dartel euphemistically. “We had very different interests that complemented each other. We had very close discussions and cooperation on a political level.

“Economically, Netherlands and Russia were very close partners. And once in a while we had problems.”

Tjibbe Joustra, chairman of the Dutch Safety Board speaks during a press conference to present the report findings Photograph: Robin van Lonkhuijsen/EPA

Declining trade

Dutch investment in the Russian economy increased tenfold from 2002 to 2013, making the Netherlands one of Russia’s largest investors.

The Netherlands exported €7.1bn worth of goods to Russia in 2012: mostly machinery but also flowers, cheese and agricultural products, while Russia provided the Netherlands with more than a quarter of its crude oil imports in 2012.

That economic foundation has now been severely undercut, the ambassador said, as the devaluation of the rouble make Dutch products comparatively expensive.

European sanctions have also made it difficult for Russian companies to do business with Dutch partners. A Russian ban on the import of European agricultural products – including dairy, fruits and vegetables – has also hit the Netherlands hard.

“Our exports to Russia have decreased by one-third in the past year. Imports from Russia have decreased by about 25%,” the ambassador said.

‘As long as Crimea continues to be under occupation, we have a problem’. Photograph: Pascal Dumont/The Guardian

MH17

But the most painful source of contention between the country began with Russia’s annexation of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March last year. “As long as Crimea continues to be under occupation, we have a problem,” Van Dartel said. “In our eyes that’s illegal and we will never accept that.”

The conflict in Ukraine took on a particularly poignant character for the Dutch since the downing of MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July last year. Two-thirds of the 298 people on board were Dutch nationals and the crash has been engraved into national memory.

As long as Crimea continues to be under occupation, we have a problem Ron van Dartel

“MH17 was a traumatic development in our society. Almost everyone in the Netherlands knows someone [who died] or knows someone who is related to these [victims],” Van Dartel said.



Dutch investigators said the plane was shot down by a Russian-built missile , and all eyes are on the Joint Investigation Team – a Dutch-led body that also includes Belgium, Ukraine, Malaysia and Australia – charged with finding out where the culpability lies.

“Our main task [is] to bring those responsible to court. We owe that to the victims,” Van Dartel said.

But the ambassador urged caution. “We have never anticipated the outcome of the investigation. We have never pointed our finger at anyone. We have been extremely careful.” My advice would be “wait for the results.”

The Dutch approach

On the secret to working and living in Russia, Van Dartel says “always keep a cool head... continue your work calmly, that’s the Dutch approach.”

The ambassador says that he has managed to alleviate the personal impact of the western import ban by bringing his “permitted amount of Dutch cheese” into the country.

But what he does miss is cycling. “I didn’t bring my bike to Moscow because I consider it too dangerous. Traffic here is intense.”

A version of this article first appeared on The Moscow Times