Netherlands cancels flight permit for Turkish FM, Turkey summons diplomat

The Netherlands has canceled a flight clearance for Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on March 11, which caused reaction from Turkey, after Çavuşoğlu said hours earlier that Turkey would impose "severe sanctions" against the Dutch state.

Çavuşoğlu was scheduled to fly to the Netherlands' Rotterdam on March 11, but the flight clearance for his airplane to land in the country was canceled just hours before his flight on grounds of "security" and "public safety," Dutch Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on March 11, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.

The Netherlands' charge d'affaires to Ankara was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on March 11, state-run Anadolu Agency said.

After his rallies were canceled in the Netherlands, Çavuşoğlu was set to hold a meeting at the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam late on March 11. In a statement, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Rotterdam election coordination center that the event was canceled after the Netherlands' halt to Çavuşoğlu's flight permit.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that while the Netherlands and Turkey could search for "an acceptable solution," Turkey was not respecting the rules relating to public gatherings.

"Many Dutch people with a Turkish background are authorized to vote in the referendum over the Turkish constitution. The Dutch government does not have any protest against gatherings in our country to inform them about it," he said on Facebook, according to Reuters.

"But these gatherings may not contribute to tensions in our society and everyone who wants to hold a gathering is obliged to follow instructions of those in authority so that public order and safety can be guaranteed," Rutte added.

Earlier in the day,...