Turkey & Netherlands turning ‘new page’ in relations – foreign ministers

Turkey and the Netherlands have agreed to leave a two-year long bilateral dispute behind them by turning a “new page” in relations and intensifying cooperation in the field of economy and intelligence sharing, the foreign ministers of the two countries have said. The statement came during the Dutch top diplomat’s visit to the Turkish capital. “As we have agreed, we have decided to leave all these [troubles] behind and to look to the future,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a joint press conference with his Dutch counterpart Stef Blok on Wednesday in Ankara. “Hereafter, we want to develop our ties [with the Netherlands] by focusing on a joint positive agenda,” Cavusoglu said. Both countries have drawn lessons from the two-year long break in ties, the Hurriyet Daily News quoted the minister as saying. Ties between the two NATO allies deteriorated after the Netherlands prevented Turkish politicians from holding campaigns for the Turkish community in its territories ahead of a referendum in April 2016. A Turkish minister had been deported on the grounds she had not received clearance from the Dutch authorities.