The Dutch government is expelling 17 Russian diplomats, calling their presence a threat to national security, the country's MFA said that they were officers of Russian intelligence.

The Foreign Ministry said the Russian ambassador was summoned on Tuesday and told that officers accredited as diplomats should be expelled from the country, AP reported.

The ministry said that the intelligence threat to the Netherlands remains high.

The current position of Russia in a broader sense makes the presence of these intelligence officers undesirable.

The government said it took the decision after consultations with a number of like-minded countries, citing similar expulsions by the United States, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Montenegro.