Turkish leader says Dutch will ‘pay the price’ for insult
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intensified his dispute with European nations Sunday, claiming that “Nazism is alive in the West” after two of his ministers were prevented from campaigning in the Netherlands and promising that the Dutch would “pay the price” for their unusual action.
While Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte worked to contain the diplomatic damage, Erdogan made it clear that Turkey would not be easily appeased.
He said Ankara would retaliate for the treatment of the Turkish family affairs minister, who on Saturday was blocked by police in riot gear from entering her country’s consulate in Rotterdam.
That came hours after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was denied airport landing rights to address crowds at a Rotterdam rally.