Amsterdam answered to Ankara: Dutch Parliament recognizes Armenian Genocide

ArmInfo. A majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, approved two motions regarding the Armenian genocide of 1915 on Thursday. According to NLTimes Dutch edition, Both motions were submitted by ChristenUnie parliamentarian Joel Voordewind. All four coalition parties supported the motions. One states that the Tweede Kamer "recognizes the Armenian genocide", the other that a Dutch Minister or State Secretary should attend the commemoration of this genocide in Armenia in April. This decision is expected to further sour the relationship between Turkey and the Netherlands, ANP reports. At the same time, the edition reports that this decision of the Dutch parliament will most likely lead to a deterioration in relations between the Netherlands and Turkey. It should be noted that this decision of the Netherlands was quite expected against the background of the deepening crisis in the Turkish-Dutch relations. The crisis between the two countries arose last year, after the Netherlands on 11 March 2017 banned the landing in Rotterdam of an airplane with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on board. Soon the Minister for Family and Social Policy of Turkey Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, who arrived in the Netherlands from Germany by car to participate in a meeting with the Turkish diaspora, collided with pressure. Police of the Netherlands first detained Fatma security officers Betul Sayan Kaya. The minister tried to get him to leave the car, and after her refusal they threatened to evacuate the car. As a result, Kaya was forced to leave the car, and escorted by police officers she was expelled to Germany. At the same time, police officers of the Netherlands dispersed with the use of dogs and equestrian clothes thousands of ethnic Turks gathered at the walls of the Consulate General in Rotterdam in support of the Turkish minister. It is noteworthy that the Netherlands warned the Turkish authorities in advance that they would not allow Turkish officials to take part in the actions. The Turkish Foreign Ministry demanded that the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Ankara, Cornelis van Rij, who was on vacation abroad at the time, did not return some time to fulfill his duties. Turkey after the crisis has put forward to the Netherlands side a number of conditions, the implementation of which would normalize relations between the two countries. However, Amsterdam refused to take counter steps. After it became clear that the problem between the two countries would not be resolved, the Dutch government decided to recall the ambassador to Ankara. The diplomat was recalled from Turkey on February 5. Dutch Foreign Minister Halbe Zilistra said that recent talks to resolve diplomatic problems between Turkey and the Netherlands have not yielded results. According to him, the negotiations are currently suspended.