UPDATE - Netherlands cancels Turkish FM's flight permit

UPDATES WITH MORE FROM DUTCH FOREIGN MINISTRY STATEMENT

By Hasan Esen

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AA) - The Netherlands has canceled Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's flight permit on grounds of "security" and "public safety", Dutch Foreign Ministry announced in a statement Saturday.

The announcement came just hours after Cavusoglu said Turkey would impose “severe sanctions” on the Netherlands if attempts were made to cancel his planned meeting in the European country.

The minister was scheduled to address the Turkish community in the Dutch city of Rotterdam later Saturday.

According to the Dutch statement, the decision came after Cavusoglu's "threat" to impose sanctions on the Netherlands.

In remarks made during a live television interview on CNN Turk earlier, Cavusoglu said: "If the Netherlands cancels my flight, we will impose severe sanctions on them that will affect it economically and politically."

The Dutch Foreign Ministry statement said the threat from Turkey about sanctions made it “impossible” to find a reasonable solution.

Referring to the upcoming referendum in Turkey on constitutional reforms, the statement said there were many Turkish-origin people in the Netherlands who would participate in the polls.

The Dutch government has no objection to such meetings in our country which would inform those people, the statement said. However, it claimed Turkish authorities did not want to respect rules for maintaining the order and safety of the community.

The Netherlands added it was determined to engage in dialogue with Turkey over the issue.

In his interview, Cavusoglu had asked: "Where is the harm in my visiting the country?", adding he could travel anywhere as a foreign minister.

"If tension will increase [between the two countries] because of my visit, then let it increase," he said.

The ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party's Rotterdam coordination center called on Turkish citizens to be even-tempered following the cancellation. "We believe that our honorable nation will give the best answer to this anti-democratic move which is against human rights and freedoms in the upcoming referendum," it said.