By Fatih Erkan Dogan and Tuba Sahin
ANKARA (AA) – The government will not adopt a different attitude towards Dutch investors following the recent rise in tensions between the Netherlands and Turkey, Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said on Thursday.
Speaking at Anadolu Agency’s Editors’ Desk in Ankara, Canikli said Turkey needs to act with common sense despite the Dutch government’s clearly disrespectful treatment of Turkish ministers, including Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya.
Dutch authorities have banned Turkish government ministers from addressing their expat community in connection with the upcoming constitutional change referendum on April 16 in Turkey.
“We will stick to all global agreements regarding foreign investments. If we take a heedless decision over Dutch firms, it will harm our people,” he said.
“The conditions provided to them — the Dutch investors — when foreign direct investment was brought in would continue. In this aspect, there won’t be any negative treatment,” he added.
Canikli said the government will concentrate on its own economic interests.
However, the deputy premier criticized the Netherlands for mistreating Turkish ministers, calling it “clearly uncivilized” and highlighted that Turkey needs to address the issue properly.
He said the government could take additional measures against the European country but it depended on Dutch attitude and approach in the future.
“There are some political measures not being shared with the public, but when the time comes they will be implemented,” Canikli said.
Not only Netherlands but also Europe as a whole should be considerate over this issue, he added.
“This, in fact, is a dangerous course but it should not come as a surprise.
“It is considered as a surprising incident, but when we look back, it is possible to assess the situation as Europe wearing a mask for the last 50 years which only slipped off now,” he said.
He said retaliation should be done in equal measure and in accordance with reciprocity in international relations. He described what the Netherlands had done to Turkey as “brigandage” and “trampling of human rights”.
