Turkey, Netherlands re-appoint envoys amid normalization of ties

Turkey and the Netherlands respectively re-appointed Friday their envoys as part of efforts to normalize relations between the two countries.

Ankara appointed Şaban Dişli as Turkey's Ambassador to the Hague after Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his Dutch counterpart Stef Blok agreed to make such a move as soon as possible to further strengthen the ongoing reconciliation period.

Blok is also expected to visit Turkey in the first week of October, which will constitute the "next step in the normalization of affairs," the foreign ministry said.

The relations between Turkey and the Netherlands sharply deteriorated after Çavuşoğlu was barred from entering the country and former Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, who had arrived from Germany, was barred from entering the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam and was deported after a brawl with the Dutch police.

The incident occurred shortly before the Dutch general elections on March 15, 2017, and the Turkish constitutional reform and presidential system referendum on April 16.

Turkey withdrew its ambassador to The Hague after the incident, while Dutch Ambassador Cornelis Van Rij, who was recalled to the Netherlands for consultations after Ankara asked him not to return for a while, was not allowed back into Turkey. The Dutch Foreign Ministry finally withdrew the envoy in February.

On July 20, Turkey and the Netherlands decided to normalize bilateral relations and have restored full formal diplomatic ties.