Turkish Deputy PM Türkeş not welcome in the Netherlands, Dutch Cabinet says

The Dutch Cabinet on Friday declared that Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Tuğrul Türkeş was not welcome to travel to the Netherlands for a ceremony among Turkish expatriates commemorating last year's failed coup.

A statement by the Foreign Affairs Ministry said attendance by Türkeş or other members of Turkey's government was undesireble "given the current circumstances in the bilateral relations between our land."

Shortly before Dutch national elections in March - in which anti-immigrant sentiment was a major theme - the Cabinet declared unwelcome Turkish ministers attempting to travel to the Netherlands to campaign among expatriates for the April 16 constitutional reform in Turkey.

Dutch officials cancelled permission for Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu's flight and deported Family and Social Affairs Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, who hoped to address Turkish citizens in the country before the referendum, justifying their action by citing security issues and concerns for public safety.

Friday's decision is a "natural consequence" of events in March, the statement said.

FETÖ, an organization led by U.S.-based former spiritual leader Fetullah Gülen, sought to topple the Turkish government and seize power on July 15, 2016. Loyal military troops, as well as police units and millions of Turkish citizens prevented the coup attempt. 246 people, mainly civilians, were killed, while more than 2,000 people were injured.