Dutch leader Mark Rutte moves to take sting out of Turkey spat
Ties between Turkey and The Netherlands have hit a new low ahead of Wednesday’s Dutch election Rutte warns should not be hijacked by the ‘wrong sort of populism’
Rotterdam — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Monday Turkey was not trying to interfere in the Dutch elections, due on Wednesday, by sending ministers to attend a pro-Ankara rally in Rotterdam. Ties between Turkey and The Netherlands have hit a new low after the Dutch authorities barred the Turkish foreign minister from landing in the country, and later on Saturday expelled another minister who travelled overland. They were to attend a rally in support of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plans for extended powers in Turkey, which would be put to a referendum next month. "I don’t believe it was their idea to influence our election," Rutte said. "The problem with Turkey was that it was very difficult to agree with the foreign minister on the logistics of a visit he wanted to pay on Saturday to speak with a limited group of people in one of the Turkish consulates," Rutte told the press conference. Erdogan had then said on CNN that he was "threatening the Netherlands with sanction...
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