Turkey's Erdogan warns Dutch will pay price for dispute

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned the Netherlands it will "pay the price" for harming ties after two of his ministers were barred.
Mr Erdogan said: "We will teach them international diplomacy."
The two ministers were blocked from addressing Turkish expatriates in Rotterdam on Saturday, with one of them escorted to the German border.
The Dutch government said such rallies would stoke tensions days before the Netherlands' general election.
The ministers were seeking support among expatriate voters for a referendum on expanding Turkish presidential powers.
Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, Turkey's family minister, had arrived by road on Saturday but was denied entry to the consulate in Rotterdam and was taken to the German border by Dutch police.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tried to fly in but was refused entry.
Water cannon and riot police on horseback were deployed to disperse about 1,000 people protesting outside the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam overnight.
'Capital of fascism'
  • Mr Cavusoglu called the Netherlands the "capital of fascism" after he was refused entry
  • Mr Erdogan accused Germany of "Nazi practices" after similar rallies were cancelled - words Chancellor Angela Merkel described as "unacceptable"
  • Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has proposed postponing a planned meeting with Turkey's prime minister, saying he is "very concerned at current developments in Turkey, where democratic principles are under great pressure"
  • Local French officials have allowed a Turkish rally in Metz, saying it does not pose a public order threat - while France's foreign ministry has urged Turkey to avoid provocations

Turkey's relations with several EU countries are in the spotlight ahead of the referendum:
Mr Erdogan focused his rhetoric on the Netherlands on Sunday, accusing the Dutch of "sacrificing Turkish-Dutch relations for the sake of the elections on Wednesday".
Threatening to travel to rallies abroad himself, he added: "The West has clearly shown its true face in the last couple of days. What we have seen... is a clear manifestations of Islamophobia.

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