Why should Turkey sanction the Netherlands?

On the evening of 13 local time, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Kurtul Moose announced in Turkey that the Turkish government had decided to ban flights of Dutch ambassador to Turkey and Dutch diplomats from entering Turkey and suspend high-level intergovernmental meetings between Turkey and the Netherlands.

Kurtul Moose said that it is inhumane for the Netherlands to prevent Turkish officials from propagating the constitutional referendum in the Netherlands, which violates relevant international laws and regulations. He hoped that the measures taken by Turkey would enable the Netherlands to "correct its mistakes".

1. Dutch Prime Minister: Will not yield to threats from Turkey.

On March 13, Dutch Prime Minister Rutte said that he was willing to try to ease relations with Turkey, but the Netherlands would never hold any consultations with Turkey under threat.

Rutte said that the Netherlands refused Turkish officials to hold a referendum in the Netherlands, mainly because of public safety and social order considerations. In addition, Rutte said that even if Turkish residents in the Netherlands have the right to participate in the Turkish referendum, their main identity is Dutch citizens.

In addition, in view of the continuing bad relations between Turkey and the Netherlands, the Dutch Foreign Ministry has issued travel advice to Dutch citizens, asking Dutch citizens in Turkey to be vigilant and avoid going to crowded places. In addition, the German Foreign Ministry has issued similar travel advice to its citizens.

2. Germany, France and political circles should respond to the "Nazi" remarks.

On March 13, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Republican presidential candidate Fillon voiced their voices in response to Turkey's remarks that European countries were labeled as "Nazis". German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is about to leave for a meeting with US President Donald Trump, once again said in a speech in Munich that Germany condemned Turkey's remarks that Germany and the Netherlands were "Nazis" and expressed its firm support for the Netherlands.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel: I am against Turkey equating Germany with "Nazi" and Turkey equating a friendly country like the Netherlands with "Nazi". These remarks are totally misleading. It is totally unacceptable to belittle the disasters brought by "Nazi", especially the disasters brought to the Dutch who were once ruled by "Nazi". So I will firmly support the Netherlands, especially Dutch Prime Minister Ruyt.

French Republican presidential candidate Fillon: The Turkish government is out of control now, and Turkey calls Germany and the Netherlands "Nazis". We can't be indifferent to this. Now there is something wrong with our relationship with Turkey, which requires us to be more firm.

3. EU and NATO call on Turkey and Europe to handle disputes calmly.

At present, Turkey and the European Union have a "growing trend", while the European Union and NATO are "unable to sit still". Malgari Tisskinas, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, called on Turkey and EU member states to "keep calm and not let the recent tensions between Turkey and Europe escalate". Daniel Holtgen, spokesman for the Secretary-General of the European Commission, called on the countries concerned to calmly and properly handle the recent diplomatic turmoil and avoid conflicts through constructive political dialogue. At the same time, he also stressed that Turkish citizens, whether at home or abroad, support or oppose Turkey's constitutional amendment, have the right to know and vote.

On the same day, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg also called on its member countries to "respect each other", "keep calm" and "handle the tension between Turkey and Europe carefully". At present, the most important thing is to focus on those things that can unite NATO, not split it. Stoltenberg said that only through mutual cooperation based on common interests can NATO cope with common challenges and threats.