THE HAGUE, February 9. /TASS corr./. The Netherlands is scaring its citizens with claims about a potential "Russian attack" to justify the billions of dollars in aid it is giving to Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to the Netherlands Vladimir Tarabrin said in an interview with TASS.

Commenting on the recent statement by Dutch Defense Chief Onno Eichelsheim on the need to prepare for a conflict with Russia, the diplomat emphasized that this was merely an attempt to justify the "senseless multibillion-dollar spending in support of Kiev."

"We can assume that by intimidating their citizens with a 'Russian attack,' Western capitals are thus trying to divert public attention from the failure of the policy of 'inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia,' apparently anticipating the inevitable fall of the Kiev regime," the envoy added.

In this regard, Tarabrin advised the head of the Dutch Armed Forces "not to engage in incitement and not to attribute to Russia the desire to unleash war with the West." "Russian President Vladimir Putin has directly and unambiguously declared that we have no interest in unfolding a war with NATO states as we have no territorial disagreements, no geopolitical or economic reason to do this," the ambassador pointed out.

Relations at a low point

According to the diplomat, relations with the Netherlands have reached a low point. "This is certainly not good, especially considering that their (relations - TASS) collapse at the Dutch side's initiative not only damaged close historical ties and one of the largest foreign trade turnovers, but also boomeranged on the kingdom's economy as well. For example, the politically motivated rejection of Russian pipeline gas led to a sharp price runup in the country," Tarabrin pointed out. The Netherlands government's cooperation with Western countries in providing military aid to Ukraine does not breed hope for improving relations in the near future, he added.

"In total, the Dutch authorities have transferred military equipment and funds worth €2.6 billion to the Kiev regime since the beginning of the conflict," the ambassador reiterated. "This year, the country's budget has already allocated €2 billion for these purposes. The scheduled delivery of Dutch F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine is a continuation of the official Hague’s destructive line and will certainly not contribute to the normalization of our bilateral ties.".