15 March,2017 07:28 AM IST | | Agencies
Turkey will not allow the Dutch ambassador to Ankara to return to Turkey and has suspended high-level diplomatic relations between the two countries, a top government official has said
Turkey has suspended high-level diplomatic relations with the Netherlands. PIC/AFP
Ankara: Turkey will not allow the Dutch ambassador to Ankara to return to Turkey and has suspended high-level diplomatic relations between the two countries, a top government official has said. Deputy Turkish Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus announced the freeze in Ankara Monday amid an escalating row over Turkish officials' access to the Netherlands. Over the weekend, the Netherlands refused to allow Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to visit Rotterdam for a political rally. Soon after Cavusoglu was refused entry, the Dutch stopped Turkey's Family Affairs Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya from entering the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam. She was later escorted out of the country.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogann warned the Netherlands it will "pay the price" for harming ties by barring his ministers and compared the Dutch government to Nazis. The Dutch government cited "risks to public order and security" as reasons for blocking the Turkish rallies
