Turkey and the Netherlands Bury the Hatchet

By Ismary Guardarrama

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok decided on October 3 to end a two-year-long dispute and made plans to strengthen ties in economics and share intelligence between the two countries. The two diplomats confirmed this decision while the Dutch Foreign Minister was visiting Ankara, Turkey’s capital.

According to Hürriyet Daily News, the deterioration of relations between the two countries began in April 2017, when the Netherlands prevented Turkish politicians from campaigning in Turkish communities in the Netherlands ahead of a referendum which would determine whether or not Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would remain in power.

This referendum was met with protests that turned violent as Dutch-Turkish protesters outside of the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam clashed with riot police, wrote the NL Times.

The NL Times also reported that Erdoğan accused the Netherlands of Nazism and fascism, as well as complicity in the mass murder of Srebrenica in 1995, which took place during the Bosnian war. Turkey then imposed sanctions on the Netherlands, resulting in a diplomatic crisis as ambassadors were withdrawn from both countries. The Netherlands also refused to congratulate Erdoğan when he won the referendum. Hürriyet Daily News wrote that Turkey forbade the Dutch ambassador to leave Ankara at the time. Tensions were further heightened between the two former NATO allies when the Dutch government recognized the Armenian Genocide in February 2018, as reported by the NL Times. Earlier this year in February, the Netherlands withdrew their ambassador from Turkey and claimed that until there was a Turkish ambassador in the Netherlands, it would not reinstate a Dutch ambassador in Turkey.

However, Hürriyet Daily News reports that in accordance with the agenda of President Erdoğan’s recent trip to Germany, Turkey’s Foreign Minister claimed, “We now want to revive our relations with Europe and the EU. We have this commitment and we have received a similar approach from the EU and Europe. This must continue.”

Blok agreed that restoring diplomatic ties would be beneficial for both countries and discussed the issues they could tackle together, as reported by the NL Times. "Think of the fight against ISIS, the risk of returning fighters from Syria and consular issues, but also concerns about the rule of law and the human rights situation in Turkey," said Blok.

In regards to the rule of law and human rights situation in Turkey, Hürriyet Daily News reported that the Dutch Foreign Minister noted that Turkey was taking the proper steps towards reviving EU accession talks in the country, though no specific details were offered.

In economic terms, the increase of bilateral trade relations was still in talks when the decision to restore diplomatic ties occurred. Blok stated that a joint economic council would meet soon to discuss ways to improve economic relations.