| Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan |
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday called on international organisations to impose sanctions on the Netherlands, as a diplomatic row over Ankara’s political campaigning among Turkish immigrants in Europe continues to simmer.
Speaking at an event in Kocaeli province, near Istanbul, Erdogan said the Netherlands was acting like a “banana republic”, and criticised European countries for failing to voice criticism for the Netherlands’ treatment of Turkish ministers.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said “inflammatory remarks” by Erdogan, who compared the Dutch to the Nazis, would not help de-escalate a diplomatic row between the two countries.
Rutte said that while the Netherlands did not seek confrontation with Ankara, it would have to weigh further options if Turkey did not stop making such comments.
“It is now in the interest of leadership and in the interest of working together to try to de-escalate, but of course the Turks then have to help and what they are saying today is not helping,” Rutte told journalists.