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Dutch companies to be checked for involvement in Kerch bridge project

The country's leadership is strict about not recognizing the annexation of Crimea.

Dutch companies to be checked for involvement in Kerch bridge project
Photo: Photo: EPA / UPG

The Dutch authorities will look into the legality of the participation of two Dutch companies in the construction of the bridge across the Kerch Strait, the Krym.Realii website said Monday, quoting the NOS television and radio company.

Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen said that even if the law had not been violated, the Dutch government "expects companies to conduct socially responsible international business."

Ploumen stressed that the country's leadership follows a strict policy of not recognizing the annexation of Crimea.

According to De Gelderlander, the Dutch company Dematec Equipment built one of the machines for the construction of the bridge, while another company – Bijlard Hydrauliek – supplied a "critical part" for this equipment, the newspaper said.

Dematec Equipment CEO Van den Heuvel said that the company did not violate the sanctions imposed by the EU, as construction took place on the territory of Russia.

Bijlard Hydrauliek director Marcel Bijlard said he was unaware that the units were to be used for the bridge from Russia to annexed Crimea.

The scandal with the supply of equipment by the German company Siemens to annexed Crimea prompted new EU sanctions against Russia.

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