Moscow blames Hague for inaction over Greenpeace activists

Moscow believes the Netherlands has been partially responsible for the incident with the Arctic Sunrise ship, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday. "Russia has counter claims to the Netherlands in connection with that incident," the ministry's spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told reporters. The diplomat said the situation was caused, to some degree, by Dutch inactions while the Hague was aware the Greenpeace vessel sailed under the Dutch flag. Dutch authorities were also well aware the ship was heading to the Russian economic zone to undertake illegal actions, he added. Still, the decision about the crew members' fate would be made by a Russian court, Lukashevich stressed. Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise was detained on Sept. 19 after activists aboard attempted to stage a protest against oil drilling at Prirazlomnaya platform in the Pechora Sea. The vessel was brought to Murmansk by Russian coast guards. Western media reported last month that Greenpeace Executive Director Kumi Naidoo had sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 9, asking for a meeting and offering himself "as security" for the activists' release on bail. In mid-October, a group of 11 Nobel Peace Prize laureates asked Putin to drop charges against 30 people arrested. The president's administration insisted that the plea should be directed to the judiciary.