(VOVworld) - Turkey said on Monday it will suspend high-level diplomatic relations with the Netherlands after Dutch authorities banned Turkish ministers from speaking at rallies of expatriate Turks in the Netherlands to call for support for the upcoming referendum on constitutional reform.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus (C) briefs reporters after a meeting in Ankara on January 12. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Ankara will not allow the Dutch ambassador to return until the Netherlands meets the conditions set by Turkey. Diplomatic flights from the Netherlands will also be banned. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan earlier threatened to sue the Netherlands in the European Court of Human Rights.

The European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have both urged Turkey to back off from its deepening row with the Netherlands. NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg encouraged all NATO allies to show respect for one another and focus on the issues that unite them.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn in a joint statement on Monday urged Ankara “to refrain from excessive statements and actions that risk further exacerbating the situation”.