Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip ErdoganReuters

Turkey on Monday banned the Dutch ambassador to Ankara and suspended high-level political contacts with the Netherlands, as the diplomatic crisis between the two countries continued.

Deputy Turkish Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus also said, according to the Guardian newspaper, that Turkey would close its airspace to Dutch diplomats in response to a ban on Turkish ministers speaking at rallies in the Netherlands.

The Dutch ambassador, who is currently on leave, would not be allowed to return to Turkey, he added.

“There is a crisis and a very deep one. We didn’t create this crisis or bring to this stage,” Kurtulmus said at a press conference after a weekly cabinet meeting.

His comments came hours after Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, repeated accusations of “Nazism” against the Netherlands and vowed to involve the European court of human rights over the treatment of his ministers.

Erdogan also accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of “supporting terrorists” and criticized her for backing the Dutch in the row over Turkish campaigning abroad before an April referendum on controversial plans to expand his powers.

On Saturday, the Netherlands refused to allow Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to land in Holland and Turkish Family Affairs Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya to reach the consulate.

Later, Turkish authorities blocked off the Rotterdam consulate, and Kaya was forced to hold meetings in her office.

In response, Turkey announced it "does not want" the Dutch ambassador to return to his post in Turkey, while Erdogan accused the Dutch government of being "Nazi remnants" and "fascists."

In Ankara, Turkey’s minister for EU affairs, Omer Celik, said on Monday that sanctions against the Netherlands were now likely.

“We will surely have sanctions against the latest actions by the Netherlands. We will answer them with these,” he said, according to the Guardian, adding his country should consider reviewing its migration deal with the EU and relax controls on migrants reaching Europe over land.

Meanwhile, the Dutch government updated its travel advice for Turkey on Monday, warning about the heightened diplomatic tensions. “Stay alert across the whole of Turkey and avoid gatherings and crowded places,” it said.