Turkey says it does not want Dutch envoy to return to post for a while
ANKARA/ROTTERDAM
A crowd gathers outside the Turkish consulate to welcome the Turkish Family Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, who decided to travel to Rotterdam by land after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu's flight was barred from landing by the Dutch government, in Rotterdam, Netherlands on March 11. / Reuters Photo
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said late March 11 that it has conveyed to the Netherlands its wish for the Dutch ambassador to Ankara to "not return to his post for a while," amid a row over the Dutch government’s decision to cancel Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu’s flight permit.“It has been notified that we do not wish for the Dutch ambassador, who is currently on leave outside of Turkey, to return to his job for a while,” read a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry late on March 11, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
The decision comes hours after the Dutch Foreign Ministry said it had canceled a flight clearance for Çavuşoğlu on March 11 on grounds of "security" and "public safety."
Çavuşoğlu was scheduled to fly to the Netherlands’ Rotterdam on March 11, to attend a meeting with Turkish citizens before a referendum in Turkey on April 16, during which a package of constitutional amendments will be voted upon.
But the Netherlands canceled the flight clearance. Upon this act, the Netherlands’ charge d’affaires to Ankara was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on March 11, state-run Anadolu Agency said.
Earlier in the day, Çavuşoğlu had said that if the Netherlands canceled permit for his flight, Turkey would impose sanctions.
Speaking after the Dutch government’s decision for halting his flight, Çavuşoğlu called the decision a “scandal.”
Entrances and exits to the Dutch embassy in Ankara and consulate in Istanbul were closed for security reasons, Anadolu Agency quoted diplomatic sources as saying.
The residences of the Dutch charge d’affaires and consul general were also subject to the same implementation.
