15 March 2017•Update: 15 March 2017
ISTANBUL
No economic sanctions against the Netherlands are being considered, even amid its current row with Ankara, said one of Turkey's top economic officials Wednesday.
"Let me speak very clearly: Our economic and trade relations with other countries, including the Netherlands, will not be put on the table during this process," Nihat Zeybekci, Turkey's economy minister, told a news conference in Ankara.
"The roots of bilateral relations between Turkey and Netherland date back 400 years," he observed, adding that to date, these ties have been conducted with almost zero problems.
Zeybekci's comments came after Dutch authorities blocked Turkish government ministers from addressing Turkish nationals on the upcoming constitutional change referendum on April 16.
Over the weekend, Turkish citizens in Rotterdam peacefully protested this blocking of Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya.
The citizens were met by police using batons, dogs and water cannons, in what some analysts called a disproportionate use of force.
The incidents drew strong criticism from Ankara, including sending diplomatic notes to the Netherlands in protest.
"This kind of attitude towards a Turkish official, especially a female minister, is unacceptable. They will definitely pay the price on legal and diplomatic platforms," Zeybekci said.
