Dutch government formally withdraws Turkish ambassador over 2017 row

AMSTERDAM - 5 February 2018: The Dutch Foreign Ministry Bert Koenders on Monday said it had formally withdrawn its ambassador to Turkey, who has been physically barred from the country for almost a year, over a dispute that began during March 2017.

The Netherlands will also not accept the appointment of a new Turkish ambassador to the Netherlands.

In a statement, the ministry said it has “paused” talks with Turkey on resolving the matter.

The two governments originally fell out over the Netherlands’ decision to block visas for Turkish officials to campaign among the Turkish diaspora in the Netherlands in favor of Turkey’s constitutional referendum in March -- at the exact time the Netherlands was holding its own national elections.