Kremlin calls for constructive solution to Turkey-Netherlands diplomatic standoff

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday slammed the decision by the Dutch government to withdraw permission for Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to fly to Rotterdam to address a rally of Turks.

“NAZISM is alive in the West”, declared Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday after the Netherlands blocked weekend rallies whipping up support for his power-grab referendum.

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said that while the Netherlands and Turkey could search for “an acceptable solution”, Turkey was not respecting the rules relating to public gatherings. “I have, therefore, proposed to my Turkish colleague that the meeting be postponed”, Mr Rasmussen said.

If the amendment is passed the Turkish president will have the right to issue orders, dissolve the parliament, impose a state of emergency and appoint ministers and other senior officials.

A Turkish diplomatic source, who spoke to Anadolu Agency on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to media, said Dutch diplomatic missions in Ankara and Istanbul were closed for security concerns.

The leader of the Freedom party called Turks a “fifth column” as diplomatic tensions disintegrated between the two countries after Turkish diplomats were denied entry to the country.

The Turkish-Dutch row triggered protests outside the Dutch embassy in Turkey’s capital Ankara and consulate in Istanbul, as well as clashes with police early Sunday in Rotterdam during demonstrations near the Turkish consulate, and the arrest of at least six protestors on Sunday night in Amsterdam.

Cavusoglu also referred to potential sanctions, and Rutte said consultations under threats were impossible, forcing him to bar the visit. French authorities say he’s scheduled to travel to the northern city of Metz on Sunday. Riots involving Turkish protesters and Dutch police broke out later.

Austria’s Foreign Minister, Sebastian Kurz, has also joined his peers in the Netherlands and Germany on Sunday to make clear Turkish officials are not welcome to campaign for the Turkish constitutional referendum.

“Many Dutch people with a Turkish background are authorized to vote in the referendum over the Turkish constitution”.

“Since March 11, 2017 there have been diplomatic tensions between Turkey and The Netherlands”. Germany has been critical of the mass arrests and purges that followed – with almost 100,000 civil servants removed from their posts.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said on Monday that it summoned the Netherlands’ top diplomat as a feud between the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies continued to deepen. “The same racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, we see all the crimes against humanity in today’s politics”.

The last time European Union foreign ministers met they discussed the issue of Turkish political rallies but have not agreed a joint policy on it, despite some calls for an EU-wide rule.

Cavusoglu said the actions by the Dutch are an attempt to attract right-wing voters in the March 15 general election.

“I have been threatened by the cancellation of flight clearance. They are Nazi remnants, they are fascists”, Erdogan said, according to The Daily Telegraph.