Ankara [Turkey]: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu vowed that Ankara would respond 10 times stronger to the Dutch Government’s decision to prevent him from entering the country.
The comments came after the Dutch Government cancelled the Turkish Foreign Minister’s flight permit and then blocked a convoy carrying the Family Minister from entering the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam, reports Anadolu news agency.
The ministers were due to meet Turkish residents ahead of the April 16 referendum in Turkey on the constitutional reform.
“Which steps they take, we will take 10 times more action. We are not afraid of this, but their doings are really inhuman,” Cavusoglu said in an interview with state-run TRT television.
As the diplomatic row escalated, the policemen sealed off the entrances and exits of roads to Dutch consulate due to security concerns following protests staged in solidarity with Cavusoglu.
The Netherlands on Saturday cancelled Cavusoglu’s flight permit on grounds of “security” and “public safety”.
The Netherlands is not the first country to impose such a ban. The ties between Ankara and Berlin strained in recent months after a ban on rallies by the Turkish ministers in Germany. Germany had revoked its permission for Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag’s meeting, citing concerns about overcrowding.
The planned rallies by the Turkish ministers in countries with native population come ahead of the April 16 referendum in Turkey that would expand the powers of the President. (ANI)