Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says four Russians detained and expelled by the Dutch government on suspicion of spying were merely testing the IT systems of the Russian embassy.

The Netherlands said last week they had disrupted a Russian attempt in April to hack into the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, an intergovernmental organization based in the Hague.  Authorities said they found the four accused with spying equipment in a hotel next door.

Describing the men’s trip as “routine,” Lavrov said Monday Moscow had not received a complaint from the Dutch government at the time.
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