Turkish FM calls Dutch flight ban "scandal from every angle"

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Saturday blasted the Dutch denial of his entry by air as a "scandal from every angle and unacceptable," while another Turkish minister decided to enter the Netherlands by land amid a worsening diplomatic row.

"The move would not remain unrequited," the top Turkish envoy told reporters in Istanbul. "This is the most extreme point in diplomacy."

Earlier in the day, the Dutch government revoked landing permission for the plane carrying Cavusoglu, just hours before his scheduled flight to the Dutch city of Rotterdam.

The minister went ahead with his plan to address the Turkish there to garner their votes in a referendum on Turkey switching to a presidential system, despite a Dutch call to the contrary.

Cavusoglu also accused the Netherlands of taking an "apparent" side in the April 16 referendum in Turkey.

Speaking to CNN Turk before his departure to the Netherlands, the minister threatened the northern European country with harsh economic and political sanctions in case he was not allowed in.

Meanwhile, Turkey's Minister of Family and Social Policies Betul Sayan Kaya, who is currently in Germany, decided to travel to Rotterdam by land in the face of a flight ban, Turkish media reported.

According to Ulusal TV channel, the Dutch authorities closed the road leading to the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam following Kaya's announcement.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party who opposes an executive presidency in Turkey, denounced as "wrong" the Dutch government's move, voicing support for sanctions against the Netherlands.

"Turkey can impose all kind of sanctions," Kilicdaroglu was quoted as saying by state-run Anadolu Agency. "This is Turkey's right."

"The Netherlands should now think about how their planes will land in Turkey," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said soon after the flight ban, adding that "they are the Nazi remnants, fascists."

Turkey is already embroiled in a row with Germany over a similar ban on rallies, which has chilled their bilateral ties to a new low.

source: Xinhua