Dutch ambassador to Japan @GillesBP Twitter profile

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@JamesWilliams9

Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Today I was summoned at the Foreign Ministry to be told that 15 Dutch diplomats are expelled from #Russia . This is supposed to be a reaction to our earlier #expulsion from The Hague of 17 Russian intelligence officers. Well… there is a difference and I don’t mean the numbers.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

6 months

An impressive crowd gathered today in #Moscow to say farewell to Alexey #Navalny . Long queues in front of church and cemetery reflected the loss felt, worries about the future. I felt honoured to pay respect to this courageous Russian & his family on behalf of the #Netherlands .

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

1 year

Today we remember the 298 victims of flight #MH17 , shot down nine years ago. The #Netherlands is committed to find out the truth, achieve justice and bring those responsible to court. Not to everyone’s liking: two trucks parked in front of the embassy claim we are a land of lies.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

7 months

Navalny

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

1 year

On King’s Day in April the Embassy woke up with a giant bill-board next to us. It’s still there and questions why we were absent in the Donbass while children were murdered as from 2014. A strange question, and very sad and inhumane, since flight MH17 was shot down there in 2014.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

5 years

Just visited the Dutch family in Nahal Oz near #Gaza whose house was hit by rockets. They had a good scare but are all right now, cared for by their kibbutz. Firing rockets on civilians is unacceptable. Finding a durable solution for Gaza is imperative now.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

1 year

Today is #Flag Day in #Russia . Whether you like it or not, the origins of the Russian flag are Dutch and lie in the 17th century, when czar Peter the Great built his #navy after learning the trade in the #Netherlands . O tempora, o mores.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 years

Working breakfast new style with President @avucic of #Serbia , ministers and #EU colleagues. New #Etiquette (gloves, masks) being tried in wide placement. Only temporarily as there appears to be progress in our joint fight against #COVID19 !

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 years

Breakfast with President @avucic . My Belgian colleague and I were invited as representatives of the @beneluxunion , a precursor of the #EU , still very much a forerunner when it comes to further integration - and possible inspiration for regional cooperation in the #WesternBalkans .

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Our yearly tradition of laying flowers on the spot where in 2015 liberal politician Boris #Nemtsov was murdered. What a loss for #Russia ! Fiercely critical of the Russian annexation of #Crimea and incursion in eastern #Ukraine , he would surely have condemned the present invasion.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

As the government of #Russia decided to expel the entire #visa section (and more) of this #embassy , we are forced to stop issuing visa. A tough and sad decision: I’m convinced that traveling, learning, understanding the other’s #perspective , is so important to solve this crisis.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

3 years

Exactly seven years ago the liberal politician Boris #Nemtsov was assassinated in #Moscow . Many ambassadors - #EU , #US and #Canada among them - thought it appropriate to continue the yearly tradition to commemorate his untimely death, even under the present circumstances.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

5 years

There seems to be a bit of fuss about the official name of my country: the #Netherlands . Yes, we will stop using the popular name #Holland . But we respect languages that don’t have an accepted translation of the Netherlands. In Serbia we will keep on calling ourselves #Holandija

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

7 months

This is the spot near the #Kremlin where in 2015 liberal politician Boris #Nemtsov was murdered. A kind of permanent shrine, occasionally swept clean overnight. Every year western ambassadors gather here to pay respect to Nemtsov and his ideals. History never stops, it seems…

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

6 years

All settlement activity is illegal under international law and undermines the viability of the two state solution and the prospects for a lasting peace.

Maja Kocijančič

@MajaEUspox

6 years

This week the Israeli authorities advanced plans for over 2000 settlement units across the West Bank. All settlement activity is illegal under international law and undermines the viability of the two state solution and the prospects for a lasting peace.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

6 years

Amos Oz on Dutch TV: “I never saw a curious fanatic, nor one with a sense of humor. They are walking exclamation marks, the antidote is humor and curiosity. If you can imagine being the other, it’s not easy to kill just because you think he has the wrong ideas.” We will miss him.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

I owe an apology for my silence lately. The impact of the #war in #Ukraine has been overwhelming. Even my hopeful witnessing of the breakup of the #Sovietunion as third secretary at this #embassy didn’t prepare me for this. We have to continue every effort to end this #tragedy .

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

This is the embassy of #Ukraine in #Moscow , not far from ours. Heavily guarded. Opposite the building, on the other side of the road, Russians lay #flowers in sympathy with their Ukrainian brethren. These are quickly taken away by the guards, but still a hopeful tribute.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 months

We’re in the departure lounge at #Moscow Vnukovo Airport, at the end of a posting that turned out to be quite different from what we expected - just as our first stay here when the #Soviet Union broke up. Thanks for following me, please hang on for our next adventures in… #Tokyo

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 months

We held a sober #Kingsday reception at the residence in #Moscow . The guest list grows shorter every year. Under the present circumstances, however, celebrating our presence and commitment to our norms and values is all the more necessary.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

5 months

Due to heavy snowfall it took a while to locate the only Dutch #wargrave above the #Polar circle, in #Murmansk . I was happy to eventually be able to visit the grave of Marinus ter Laak who died there in 1942. And reassured to see that it is being well kept by his hosts. @ogsnl

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Temporary closure of the Dutch Consulate-general in St #Petersburg . Due to the impossibility to get in diplomatic staff from the #Netherlands because of the Russian refusal to issue visa.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Things are changing fast in #Moscow . Such a strange feeling living without #diversity in #press and having difficulties to get money or international transport. But the worst of these is being bereft of a free choice of #news and feeling steered towards an inescapable tragedy.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 months

The oldest, strongest safe at the #Embassy has allegedly not been opened for decades. Before we leave #Moscow in a few days’ time, I wanted to make sure it didn’t hide an ancient formula to end the present #war and restore #justice (the most precious content imaginable). Alas…

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

#Winter arrived early in #Moscow . Is there something like a constitutional right to heating? On the contrary, denying the #energy for it in wintertime turns out to be a useful foreign policy instrument, and destroying it: a terrible weapon of #war , used against foreign civilians.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

It’s not uncommon in #Russia to accuse us of ‘cancelling Russian culture.’ So I consulted the upcoming programs of just two #Dutch orchestras: Concertgebouworkest @ConcertgbOrkest and Rotterdam Philharmonic @rdamphil . Well… Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich…

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 months

Had the privilege to present to His Majesty the #Emperor my Letter of Credence. An ancient tradition in the Imperial #Palace reflected in an elaborate, dignified procedure. And a moment of introspection, realizing that I am only the last in a long row of Dutch envoys to #Japan .

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Every May 4th, the #Netherlands commemorates its soldiers and citizens who fell during WW2 and since. In #Moscow we lay a wreath in memory of Lt Van der Waals who, after escaping from a German camp in Poland and doing heroic #resistance work in Hungary, died in #Soviet captivity.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

1 year

May 4, Dutch #Remembrance Day, in #Moscow . How sad to commemorate our fallen soldiers and civilians since #WW2 while a war is raging nearby. 80 years ago the #Soviets were our ally; but that seems long ago now…

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

1 year

Quite a short but heavily guarded military #Parade in #Moscow today, with me taking a peek around the corner of where we live. The noise of the military vehicles participating was less loud than the #Ferraris and #Lamborghinis that race our streets at night.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

6 years

Visiting the #Gaza Strip border with @DutchMFA Middle East director, Geoffrey van Leeuwen. Appalled by the material damage, psychological terror caused by Hamas - and impressed by the resilience of local Israelis. Memories of good relations with their neighbors give them hope.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

These memorials can be found all over #Moscow , commemorating the victims of the #Gulag and the Terror, not unlike the #Stolpersteine in Europe. These are the work of human rights group @EnMemorial , one of the three #Nobel Prize for #Peace 2022 laureates, and shut down in #Russia .

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

7 months

Observing the #trial of Oleg #Orlov (70), sentenced to 2,5 years for “discrediting the armed forces” (calling a war a #war ). During the proceedings he read ‘the Trial’ by #Kafka , finding - as he mentioned in his closing statement - many similarities between book and reality.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

1 year

No #drone zones: a new kind of traffic sign pops up in the centre of #Moscow . Meanwhile our #GPS and traffic apps are regularly jammed and leave us at a loss where we’re going - something that seems to be happening to more people here.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

5 months

Different cultures: in the #Netherlands you keep your number plates on your car when you park it illegally, to show you don’t care about paying the fine; but in #Moscow you take them off – not because you can’t pay, but you just don’t care a hoot about rules and regulations.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

6 years

Deeply worried by the existence of tunnels extending from Lebanon into Israel. This is a violation of Israeli sovereignty and international law. Escalation in the north will risk the lives of many in the region.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

5 years

Saddened by another rocket attack from Gaza that destroyed a family home in Moshav Mishmeret. I wish those wounded a speedy recovery. Targeting innocent civilians is unacceptable and doesn’t bring peace any closer.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 years

Although it went almost unnoticed in the local press, #Serbia aligned itself with the EU statement on the #Belarus elections in which High Representative Josep Borrell condemned these as neither free nor fair. Sharing foreign policy is an essential element of #EU #accession .

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Laying flowers at the Jewish Museum in #Moscow on International #Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January. We agree to prevent that this ever happens again; but we should also avoid hollow misuse of the term #Nazis in order to whip up populations into a unjustified, frenzied #war .

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 years

We‘re in the departure lounge at #Belgrade Airport and almost off - #goodbye lovely Belgrade, friends, colleagues! Please stay in touch, and keep following me if you’re interested in our adventures in #Moscow .

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

1 year

Two different ways to prepare for a sober #King ’s Day reception in #Moscow in 2023: one inside the #Netherlands ’ embassy, one outside in the street.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

5 years

Celebrating 30 years of #love and #marriage . My dear wife is an indispensable friend and ally in my life and work. Our Ministry of FA should consider itself lucky with partners like her willing to participate in our work: it gets 2 for the price of 1 (certainly a Dutch quality).

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

I visited #StPetersburg last weekend to check upon our Consulate-general which temporarily closed due to lack of staff allowed in #Russia . It wasn’t until being there, that it dawned upon me how unimaginable it is seeing this city without an official #Dutch presence…

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

10 months

When visiting St #Petersburg , I often pass by the city-island Новая Голландия (‘New Holland’). Erstwhile wharf, used to build the #Russian #fleet with skills Peter the Great learned in the #Netherlands - now a cultural meeting point for the youth, waiting for Winds of #Change …

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

3 months

We landed in #Tokyo two weeks ago and hit the ground running. Busy meeting new colleagues in- and outside the #embassy , and getting to know this amazing like-minded country that looks similar but is so different at the same time. Ready for new #adventures !

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Today – more important than ever – we remember the victims of the Great #Terror and the consequences of political #repression . We laid flowers at the stone, brought in 1990 from the infamous Solovetsky #Gulag camp to the #Lubyanka , the notorious HQ of the KGB and its predecessors

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

6 months

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

5 years

This is my last tweet from #Israel . Thanks for following me and keeping me alert with your reactions. Do follow me to our embassy in #Belgrade in a region that, dixit Churchill, produces more history than it can consume (sounds familiar, eh?). It was a pleasure indeed!

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Every May 5th, the #Netherlands celebrates its #liberation in WW2 and its precious #freedom for which so many gave their lives. Freedom is fragile, vulnerable, and pausing a moment to reflect upon that never felt more necessary than here, in #Moscow , and now, in 2022.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Today 80 years ago, the #Netherlands and the #Soviet union entered into diplomatic relations as allies in the war against fascism. Today there is no reason to celebrate the #anniversary , but we still need this channel for dialogue in order to end a #war that this time divides us.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

1 year

Monitoring the trial of political activist Vladimir #Kara -Murza, from a separate room in court, with many other diplomats. Verdict as expected: 25 years of strict regime #prison colony, after expressing his opinion on developments in #Russia . And not only his…

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Congratulations, Your #Majesty ! The war in #Ukraine makes it difficult to celebrate our national day in #Moscow in the usual festive manner. Instead, we hosted a #Dutch -only gathering to discuss the prospects of a dwindling Dutch community in #Russia and support from the embassy.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Frequent and useful coordination between the #EU ambassadors in #Moscow , and our staff meets even more to discuss relevant policy areas. We all face shortages of #embassy personnel, and that only reinforces our cooperation - with Allies and likeminded countries as well.

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@GillesBP

2 years

There is a clear increase in high level government meetings in #Moscow and thus in the number of black limousines with #police escorts speeding along the fast #VIP lanes. They have impressive sirens that sound like whales in a ritual mating dance - no wonder everybody gives way…

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Today was the funeral of Mikhail Sergeyevich #Gorbachev , architect of #glasnost & #perestroika . Had the sad honour to convey condolences of HM the King to the family. The former President lay in state in Dom Soyuzov and was buried in Novodevichiy cemetery, next to his wife Raisa.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

1 year

This embassy gave up flying with Russian #airlines given the lack of maintenance since the #sanctions . Travelling by train is the alternative, although takes more time and requires more stretching the legs, as here on our way back to #Moscow from #Kazan , Tatarstan.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

5 years

This morning I presented my Letters of Credence as the new Dutch ambassador to President Vučić of Serbia. The president knows the Netherlands well, having visited many places as a chess player. A great start of our new posting in Belgrade!

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

11 months

To prepare for the Day of #Remembrance of the #Victims of Political #Repressions on 30 October, I took part in 'Returning the Names' of victims who lived in the street in #Moscow where the #Netherlands embassy now is located. Many were executed during the Great #Terror in 1937.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

1 year

Returned to #Moscow just in time to see the occasional road block left. #Kremlin and Red Square still closed off. Eerie remnants of what could have been worse - and so much yet unclear. Amazingly, daily life continues as if nothing happened.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

1 year

Looking for #mushrooms in the extended forests near #Moscow : an old #Russian tradition and a perfect way to unwind a bit, recharge the batteries (and the taste buds).

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 years

Eagerly waiting to be reunited with our son at an empty #Belgrade airport. Happy to be together in these challenging times. Now we experienced first hand the big obstacles when traveling during the #COVID19 crisis - and the heartwarming support from the Serbian authorities.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 years

Back again after a short holiday. Normally I prepare for a restart by shining my #shoes , a diplomatic necessity and a great relaxing therapy at the same time. But #Covid19 makes that unnecessary: virtual meetings don’t show shoes (unless you behave like a certain Soviet leader).

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

11 months

As in previous years, many ambassadors today laid flowers at the #Solovetsky stone, which was brought from the former #Gulag camp near Arkhangelsk to #Moscow in 1990 to commemorate the victims of political #repression .

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

6 years

Last week in the Netherlands, Frieda Menco passed away at 93. One of the last survivors of #Auschwitz she played an important role educating youth about the Holocaust. Will we be able to carry on their enormous task to teach new generations, to make sure this never happens again?

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

3 years

Me as a nice example of being caught between different #Covid regulations in Europe. Vaccinated with #Sputnik and now with #Moderna to get a #QR code both in #Russia and back home - add the challenges of registration in both countries… one forgets it’s all about staying healthy!

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Bye to the #Netherlands and back to #Moscow , after a busy Ambassador’s Conference trying to make sense of the conflict in #Ukraine and adjusting perspectives with my Dutch colleagues from all over the world. As direct flights are sanctioned, we face a long and winding journey.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 years

Thank you so much #Belgrade for showing #solidarity with the #Netherlands by showing our flag on your buildings! With that spirit we will jointly beat #Covid19 !

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 years

Delighted to hoist the #rainbow flag with my son on the occasion of #IDAHOT : international day against homo-, bi- and transphobia. Only 30 years ago, in 1990, the WHO stopped regarding homosexuality as a disease. There is progress in #equalrights #LGBTI but we are still battling.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 years

Life in #Serbia is starting up again! Foreign minister Dačić made Novak Djoković @DjokerNole a special ambassador on Diplomacy Day; and president @avucic and #EU commissioner @OliverVarhelyi (linked in from Brussels) witnessed the signing of this year’s huge pre-accession funds.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Just had a worrying visit to the @gulag_museum in #Moscow - to be reminded again what to avoid at all times.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 years

The #Pobednik is back on his feet in #Belgrade . May this timely renovated masterpiece by Ivan #Me štrović give us courage and testify to the many joint efforts to combat this present #crisis .

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

5 years

Congratulations to @dunclaurence and to all other participants! Thank you for sharing your music and emotions with us. What a great night #TelAviv , #Eurovision2019 !

KAN Eurovision Israel

@kaneurovision

5 years

AND THE WINNER IS THE NETHERLANDS! CONGRATULATIONS! #Eurovision @Eurovision @dunclaurence

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Congratulating Irina Fliege, director of the Memorial Research Centre in St Petersburg, with the Nobel Peace Prize 2022.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

3 years

Just spent a useful working week back home in #TheHague . Regularly touching base is necessary for diplomats - especially in tensed times like these. I briefed our ministers and discussed the latest developments in #Russia with many colleagues inside and outside the ministry.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

1 year

@FactsFound Hergebruik foto is geen probleem!

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Dutch #diplomats around the world are always proud to advertise courses in #InternationalLaw in the #Netherlands . But in #Moscow one can have a long discussion on whether offering those here and now would be useful, or appropriate, or anyway feasible…

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

5 years

In our last days in Israel my wife and I said goodbye to a group dear to our hearts: the survivors of the #Holocaust in the two Dutch senior homes in Israel. They taught us so much - their resilience, strength of will and positive outlook on life are a source of inspiration.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

7 months

In a bid to turn society away from the ‘unfriendly’ West, the #Russian authorities have been celebrating #Chinese New Year in an unprecedented manner throughout #Moscow . It is quite fashionable nowadays to emphasize #Asian cultural heritage.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 years

Today is #KingsDay , the national day of the #Netherlands , uniting everyone. Today we show our commitment to our @KoninklijkHuis . But this year the Royal Family and the Dutch people want to pay tribute to everyone fighting #Covid19 . As ambassador I can’t resist adding some words:

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

3 years

Our thoughts are with our colleagues in #Kiev and our compatriots who are advised to leave #Ukraine . It feels surreal being in #Moscow , where daily life continues as usual. The conflict is limited to press articles, television debates and a steady flow of international mediators.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

5 years

Saddened by the passing of Nechama Rivlin. After her own career and raising a family, she was a huge support for @PresidentRuvi , the presidency and thus the country. Despite her illness she continued to accompany her husband. My sincere condolences to the President and his family

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Western steadfastness at our embassy in #Moscow : many discussions with our partners in order to advise our capitals to the best of our knowledge about the horrendous war in #Ukraine . And thus about our relations with #Russia . And broader yet: this also has global consequences…

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@GillesBP

5 years

To all my Jewish friends and colleagues: חג שמח - and to my Christian ones: happy Easter!

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@GillesBP

5 years

Finally able to get rid of my jacket in order to plant the 200th tree of the park in Mitspe Ramon dedicated to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The park is fed by the King Willem-Alexander #water reservoir. Two great desert projects by the Dutch branch of the Jewish National Fund.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Today 100 years ago Jelena #Bonner was born. Widely known as wife, later widow of Andrey #Sakharov , she herself laid the foundation of many #humanrights movements in #Russia . This new exhibition about her is the last in the Sakharov Centre - soon to be closed as a ‘foreign agent’

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

3 years

Traveling through #Russia and #history . The quiet whiteness of snow makes the battlefields of #Borodino yet more impressive, if we imagine the pure horrors of war in 1812. The care given to the memory of those who died there makes one wonder whether we can learn a lesson…

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

2 years

Even the Secretary-General of the #UN is cristal clear: the annexation of #Ukraine regions violates the UN Charter, international law, stands against everything the international community is meant to stand for and is a dangerous escalation. President #Putin can still stop it now

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@GillesBP

10 months

The #Moscow #underground is famous for its richly decorated stations. One of them is Kievskaya (from the railway station above ground the trains to #Kiev used to depart), where I found this beautiful #mosaic called ‘Friendship between the Russian and Ukranian kolchoz farmers.’

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

3 years

Our little intrepid fellow-traveller - who in his adventurous life already faced scorching heat in Abu Dhabi and defied the chic beaches of Tel Aviv - in his new gear. This morning was -22 and snow again in #Moscow .

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

5 years

#Belgrade is anxiously waiting for the first #snow . There has never been a winter without it. The conclusion is inevitable: there really is a change in climate. Urgent action is needed. #ClimateAction begins at home, but we’re all in this together. #AdaptOurWorld

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

3 months

My first visit outside of #Tokyo was, of course, to follow our historical footprints in #Japan : Hirado and #Decima (the artificial island in Nagasaki). From 1641 until 1859 the Dutch were the only western traders with Japan and thus its cultural and scientific window on the west.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

3 months

My visit in #Nagasaki coincided with a visit of HNLMS #Tromp . This great frigate is on a worldwide journey because nowadays security in the #TransAtlantic and the #IndoPacific is indivisible - and to underline the importance of free passage in international waters.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

1 year

The yearly May 9th military #parade in #Moscow is approaching. First preparations always include reinforcing the underground passages beneath the roads leading up to Red Square, to be able to hold #tanks , #missile carriers and thousands of marching boots.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

3 years

Nothing makes a Netherlands ambassador more proud than opening an exhibition with XVII century Dutch masters. 80 of these wonderful paintings have been collected from all over Russia in the beautiful museum in Serpukhov.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

3 years

Laying flowers at the #Jewish Museum in Moscow: . Yesterday was International #Holocaust Remembrance Day. 77 years ago the Soviet army liberated camp #Auschwitz . Today the need to remember the Holocaust, to pass on the message is still there: never again!

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

1 year

Heartwarming to receive many messages of support and appreciation after having organized a meeting with #Russian #alumni of #Dutch #universities . There clearly is a need to stay in touch with this precious network of informed and knowledgeable contacts.

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

3 years

Just had a useful session of #EU ambassadors in #Moscow . Discussing the last 48 hours: why things happened the way they happened, why people acted the way they acted and - given all this - how to advise our capitals and #Brussels .

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

4 years

A final meeting with President Vučić @avucic on the stable and growing ties between #Serbia and the #Netherlands . We also discussed the importance of cooperation in fighting #Corona and of improving that cooperation worldwide - as well as its crucial relation to #RuleofLaw .

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

10 months

After snowfall in #Moscow a fleet of special vehicles and an army of snowclearers take to the streets. This is just a small version of the giant snowploughs that cruise the city, popularly called ‘kapitalisty’ because of their big groping arms with which they collect the #snow .

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Dutch ambassador to Japan

@GillesBP

6 years

Welcome to my new account. Honored to send my first tweet after a successful King’s Day reception #Koningsdag2018 at our residence. Proud of my Embassy team in #TelAviv

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