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The Netherlands apologizes to Russia for arresting one of its diplomats in The Hague

Dmitry Borodin's arrest violated his diplomatic immunity, the Dutch Foreign Ministry says

The Netherlands and Russia are in talks on how to resolve the incident

CNN  — 

The Netherlands has apologized to Russia for arresting one of its diplomats in The Hague over the weekend, the Dutch government said Wednesday.

The arrest by Dutch police of Russian diplomat Dmitry Borodin was a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the Dutch Foreign Ministry conceded Wednesday.

But the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Frans Timmermans “recognizes that the police officers concerned were acting in accordance with their professional responsibility in responding to a reported situation,” the ministry said.

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The Netherlands and Russia are currently in talks on how to resolve this incident, it said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded an apology Tuesday.

Sofia Sarenkova, spokeswoman for the Russian Embassy in The Hague, told CNN that on Saturday night “four unidentified persons wearing police-like uniforms forced themselves into Mr. Borodin’s apartment with no authority or identification.

“He informed them that he was a Russian diplomat but they proceeded anyway,” she said.

She said the men used physical force against the diplomat before handcuffing him and taking him to the police station, where he was kept for several hours without the chance to call the embassy, Sarenkova said.

Authorities in the Netherlands have not said what report triggered the police action.