ISTANBUL
US Ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, called on the government to condemn a Socialist party leader for comparing President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, daily De Morgen reported Wednesday.
In a letter delivered Tuesday to Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot, White requested that the government "immediately condemn" Conner Rousseau, leader of the Flemish socialist party Vooruit.
"It is with great concern that the United States of America files this official complaint against Mr. Conner Rousseau, chairman of Vooruit. The video Mr. Rousseau posted of himself last week, in which he compares the President of the United States of America to Hitler, is completely unreasonable and unacceptable," White wrote.
He described Rousseau's remarks as "defamatory," underscoring that they cannot be tolerated.
Earlier Tuesday, Belgium told the US ambassador to respect its institutions and sovereignty after his public criticism of an ongoing judicial investigation triggered a diplomatic dispute.
“Personal attacks on a member of the Belgian government and any interference in Belgium’s internal affairs are contrary to these basic diplomatic rules,” the Belgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The comments followed White’s sharp criticism of a minister and his accusation that Belgium engaged in antisemitism over the prosecution of three Jewish ritual circumcisers in Antwerp. White described the case as “ABSOLUTELY an issue of antisemitism" on US social media company X.