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EU Chief Juncker Refuses to 'Quarrel' With Russia Despite Hacking Accusations

© AFP 2023 / Frederick Florin European Commission's President Jean-Claude Juncker delivers a speech as he makes his State of the Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on September 14, 2016.
European Commission's President Jean-Claude Juncker delivers a speech as he makes his State of the Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on September 14, 2016. - Sputnik International
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On Thursday, the Dutch Defense Ministry said that the country's security services had prevented a hacker attack on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), alleging that four Russian citizens had planned the intrusion.

In an interview with Der Standard, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker signaled an unwillingness to spoil relations with Russia amid reports of Moscow's alleged hacking attack on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

He underscored that despite an ever-increasing dissatisfaction with Russia, the EU needs to realize again that "we should maintain a dialogue with Russia for security architecture reasons and partially work together."

READ MORE: UK, Dutch Hacking Accusations Against Russia 'Coordinated Action' — Scholar

"I'm not ready for a quarrel with Russia, even though I recently published a communiqué in Brussels criticizing events [the hacking attack] in the Netherlands," Juncker said, stressing the need to stay calm under the current situation.

His remarks came after a diplomatic source told Sputnik that the ambassador of the Netherlands will be summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry amid accusations against Moscow over its alleged cyberattack on OPCW.

Earlier, the Netherlands' Defense Ministry alleged that four Russians had attempted to hack the computer system of the OPCW's headquarters in The Hague.

READ MORE: US Hacking Charges, Sharing Cyberweapons With NATO Inflame Danger of 'Real War'

According to Dutch Defense Minister Ank Beyleveld, the suspects, who held diplomatic passports, were expelled from the Netherlands on April 13.

The Russian Foreign Ministry responded by stating that the Dutch accusations of cyberattacks are part of a "staged propaganda campaign against Russia." Moscow also warned the Netherlands that the "spy mania campaign" has seriously harmed bilateral relations.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivers a speech during a debate on The State of the European Union at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, September 12, 2018 - Sputnik International
EU Will Reach Long-Term Security Only in Cooperation With Russia - Juncker
A Russian Foreign Ministry source, for its part, told Sputnik that there were no and there cannot be any attacks on the OPCW on behalf of Russia, because Moscow already has access to the organization's files.

The source slammed the Dutch accusations as "an example of some Western states' policies reaching the point of bigotry," noting that Western "spy mania is gaining momentum."

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