The Dutch government on Saturday refused permission for Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's plane to travel to the Netherlands ahead of a planned rally in the city of Rotterdam to drum up support for a referendum.

"The Turkish authorities have publicly threatened sanctions. That makes it impossible to reach a reasonable solution," the Dutch government said in a statement.

"For that reason the Netherlands has let it be known it will withdraw permission to land" the minister's plane, it added.

According to the Turkish foreign ministry, Cavusogly was still in Istanbul when the Dutch authorities announced they would refuse his plane permission to land.

source: AFP