Turkey slams EU officials in row over Netherlands campaigning

It described as "worthless" an appeal by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn.

The row erupted after the Dutch barred Turkish ministers from campaigning among expatriates for a referendum.

The referendum would controversially boost the Turkish president's powers.

In response to the Dutch move, Turkey barred the Dutch ambassador from returning to Ankara and suspended high-level political talks, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Dutch of using Nazi tactics.

The Dutch government cited "risks to public order and security" as reasons for blocking the Turkish rallies, which have also been prevented in fellow EU states Germany and Austria, but not France.

Voters in the Netherlands go to the polls on Wednesday for a general election dominated by concerns about immigration and Islamic radicalism.

Relations between the EU and Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country regarded as crucial to tackling Europe's migrant crisis, have been long been strained.

Turkey's foreign ministry said it was "grave" of the EU to stand by the Netherlands.

On Monday, Ms Mogherini and Mr Hahn had called on Turkey to "refrain from excessive statements and actions that risk further exacerbating the situation".

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had also rallied to the Netherlands, condemning the Nazi analogies made by Mr Erdogan as "completely misguided".

The Dutch foreign ministry has urged citizens in Turkey to take care.

However, responding to the diplomatic sanctions announced by Turkey, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said they were "not too bad".

Source: bbc.com

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