The Netherlands announced Tuesday it is expelling 17 Russian diplomats, characterizing them as a “threat to national security.”

The foreign affairs ministry said the reason for the expulsions was information indicating the 17 are “secretly active as intelligence officers.”

The ministry added that the “intelligence threat against the Netherlands remains high. The current attitude of Russia in a broader sense makes the presence of these intelligence officers undesirable.”

It said it took the move after consulting with several other countries.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said the country was prepared should Russia take retaliatory measures against Dutch officials in Russia.

Similar actions have been taken recently by the United States, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Montenegro.

Some information in this report comes from The Associated Press and Reuters
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