Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

Turkey may apply economic sanctions against the Netherlands in the near future, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told CNN Turk a day after Ankara announced a series of high-level diplomatic sanctions.

The political sanctions - which include a ban on the Dutch ambassador and diplomatic flights from the Netherlands – were imposed after Dutch authorities prevented its ministers from speaking at rallies of expatriate Turks, deepening the row between the two NATO allies.

Kurtulmus further said that the Turkish Parliament may consider abolishing agreements on friendship between the two countries.

"We are doing exactly what they did to us. We are not allowing planes carrying Dutch diplomats or envoys from landing in Turkey or using our airspace," Kurtulmus told a news conference after a cabinet meeting. "Those creating this crisis are responsible for fixing it."

President Tayyip Erdogan has previously accused the Dutch government of acting like "Nazi remnants" for barring his ministers from addressing expatriate Turks to drum up votes. About 400,000 people with ties to Turkey live in the Netherlands, though it's not clear how many are eligible to vote.

Besides, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said there should be a formal apology from the Netherlands regarding the recent incident.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry sent protest notes to the Dutch side over the treatment of a Turkish minister who was prevented from entering a consulate in the Netherlands and escorted out of the country after trying to attend a political rally.

The ministry also objected to what it called a "disproportionate" use of force against demonstrators at a protest afterward.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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