Turkey and the Netherlands have reappointed ambassadors amid an improvement in bilateral relations, which initially deteriorated following last year's row over Amsterdam preventing Turkish politicians from attending referendum rallies on Dutch soil, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th September, 2018) Turkey and the Netherlands have reappointed ambassadors amid an improvement in bilateral relations, which initially deteriorated following last year's row over Amsterdam preventing Turkish politicians from attending referendum rallies on Dutch soil, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
The decision to resume diplomatic ties and reinstate ambassadors was made by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Dutch counterpart Stef Blok during their meeting in July.
"Turkey and the Netherlands' respective Ambassadors were appointed today in line with the agreement to normalize relations. In this framework, Saban Disli has been appointed as Turkey's Ambassador to the Hague, with the approval of our President," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Blok's trip to Turkey, planned for early October, would be the next step toward improving bilateral relations, the statement continued.
"We welcome these developments and hope to see their positive effects on our relations with the Netherlands with whom we enjoy long-standing relations for over 400 years as well as on our EU membership process," the Turkish Foreign Ministry pointed out.
Turkish-Dutch relations worsened in March 2017 when the Netherlands barred Turkish officials from holding rallies with local Turkish communities that were aimed at gaining support among eligible Turkish voters ahead of the April 2017 constitutional referendum.
After the incident, Ankara said that returning of the Dutch ambassador to Turkey from vacation was undesirable. In February 2018, the Netherlands officially recalled its ambassador in Ankara.
