What Are the Reasons for Turkiye and the Netherlands to Open a New Page of Relations?

After a major crisis that amounted to the expulsion of ministers and ambassadors, and accusations of fascism and Nazism, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrived in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on March 22, 2022, in a remarkable visit, the first of its kind in 10 years.

This visit received great attention in the Turkish and Dutch press, amid expectations that it will play an important role in softening the tense relations between the two countries since 2017, especially with Rutte stressing the importance of Turkiye to his country and the European Union alike.

Although the real motives behind this diplomatic shift lie in political issues, the economy was not far from the talks, with the Netherlands leading the list of foreign investors in Turkiye.

 

Forked Relations

Commercial transactions are credited with initiating diplomatic relations between Turkiye and the Netherlands in the seventeenth century, during the era of the Ottoman Empire.

In 2012, Turkiye and the Netherlands celebrated the 400th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, but in 2017, those relations were hit by a major crisis, the repercussions of which lasted for several years.

The dispute between the two sides began in February 2017, when the Netherlands granted asylum to dozens of supporters of the Turkish Gulen group, accused of carrying out a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016, which resulted in the deaths of 252 people and injured thousands.

Then the dispute expanded and turned into an unprecedented political diplomatic crisis between the two countries on March 11, 2017, when the Dutch government prevented Turkish Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya from entering the Ankara embassy in Rotterdam, and returned her by land to Germany as she came.

Hours earlier, the Netherlands did not allow the plane of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to land in its territory, to participate in a gathering of Turks in Rotterdam related to the referendum on amending the constitution to transition to the presidential regime in Turkiye.

In response, the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned, on the same day, the charge d'affaires of the Dutch embassy in Ankara in order to protest against these measures, withdrew its ambassador, and prevented the return of the Dutch ambassador, who was on vacation outside Turkiye.

In a statement, the ministry confirmed that Turkiye and the Netherlands are friendly and allied countries with diplomatic relations that have continued without interruption for 405 years, meanwhile, the two countries did not adopt a hostile attitude towards each other at any stage.

It stressed that these dangerous measures are not in line with democratic nor diplomatic norms, but are based on purely internal political motives, to please the head of a racist and populist political party hostile to Islam and xenophobia, referring to the leader of the far-right in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders.

But the strongest response came from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said in press statements on the same day: “They (Netherlands) are not skilled in politics or diplomacy, they are so cowards, they are fascists and remnants of Nazism.”

He added that his country would prevent Dutch diplomats and politicians from coming to Turkiye, while Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte commented on this, saying: “These are crazy statements of course. I understand their anger, but this is exaggerated.”

But at the same time, he said, “We will do everything we can to maintain good and strong relations with Turkiye. We have strong ties for hundreds of years, and we want to maintain official relations with Turkiye, and I strongly defend this.”

While the Turkish government was waiting for an official apology for these actions, it was surprised by the Dutch parliament’s decision, on February 17, 2018, to recognize the allegations of the Armenian genocide during the Ottoman Empire during World War I, which exacerbated the crisis, amid condemning and angry official Turkish reactions.

 

Step Forward

Mark Rutte is known to be one of the European leaders who support adopting a positive agenda with Turkiye, despite any differences that arise due to the approaches of the two sides.

Rutte defends Turkiye's importance in protecting the southeastern flank of NATO, and his country also hosts a Turkish community, the largest in the country, estimated at half a million people.

With the escalation of the crisis between Moscow and NATO at the end of 2021, and the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Western countries, including the Netherlands, imposed harsh economic sanctions against Russia, which amounted to closing the airspace to it.

Turkiye, despite its membership in NATO, adopted a different approach, given that it enjoys good political and economic relations with Russia and Ukraine.

Ankara condemned the Russian military intervention, and affirmed its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, but at the same time, it refused to participate in Western sanctions against Moscow, believing that the solution to this crisis would come through keeping the channels of diplomacy and dialogue open.

Despite the continuation of military operations, Turkiye took many measures to mediate between the two sides, through frequent phone calls that brought President Erdogan together with his Russian counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also held talks with his Russian counterparts, Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Dmytro Kuleba, and visited both Moscow and Lviv.

These efforts culminated in a meeting in the Turkish city of Antalya between Lavrov and Kuleba, the first of its kind since the start of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine, which was highly praised by the international community.

In this context, the Turkish political science professor, Burhanettin Duran, said in an article published by the Turkish newspaper Sabah on March 26, 2022, that “this balanced Turkish position has brought about a positive development in the lukewarm Turkish-Western relations.”

Duran, who is also the director of the Turkish SETA Center for Research and Studies, added that “President Erdogan's unique policy on the Russian-Ukrainian crisis is very popular in Western capitals.”

The same thing was talked about by the Dutch Prime Minister in a joint press conference with Erdogan, who said that his country is following the important efforts made by Turkiye to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, through dialogue and negotiations.

Rutte added that he thanked President Erdogan and Foreign Minister Cavusoglu for their diplomatic efforts, stressing the Netherlands' support for Turkiye's mediation efforts between Ukraine and Russia, as it is one of the few countries that has continuous contacts with the two countries.

 

Economic Cooperation

The meeting between Erdogan and Rutte also witnessed discussions on enhancing economic cooperation between the two countries, in light of the leadership of foreign direct investment in Turkiye.

During the joint press conference, Erdogan explained that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries increased by 30 percent in 2021 despite the repercussions of the Corona epidemic, and reached $11 billion.

“We set the goal of reaching $15 billion in bilateral trade volume in the first phase, then $20 billion,” he added.

“The Netherlands is at the forefront of countries that have direct investments in Turkiye at $27.5 billion, while the volume of Turkish investments in the Netherlands amounts to $16 billion,” he noted.

“Turkish entrepreneurs provide job opportunities for 80,000 people through 23,000 companies they set up in the Netherlands,” he added.

In the same direction, Rutte stressed that “the Netherlands is the largest foreign direct investor in Turkiye, with 3,000 companies currently active in various fields.”

The majority of Dutch investments in Turkiye are concentrated in the areas of banking, ports, logistics, real estate, agriculture, aviation, food, electronics, automobile manufacturing and supply, in addition to health tourism.

Between 2003-2020, the Netherlands injected direct investments into the Turkish economy, amounting to nearly $26.2 billion, which is approximately 16 percent of the total foreign investment in Turkiye during the same period.

In his desire to mend the strained relations with the United States, the European Union and NATO, during the press conference with Rutte, Erdogan referred to Western sanctions against Turkiye within the framework of the defense industries, due to its purchase of the Russian S-400 defense system.

“If we are together in NATO, we must show our solidarity, and we as countries in the alliance should work together to take steps related to the defense industries. New negotiating chapters must also be opened within the framework of Turkiye's membership process in the European Union,” he said.

However, Rutte responded by saying: “Turkiye is an important partner of the European Union, and is of very great political and military importance for NATO.”

 

Sensitive Visit

The Dutch professor and specialist on Turkiye, Erik-Jan Zurcher, said: “The main reason for Rutte's visit is to bring Ankara closer to the western wing. He wants it to be at least as harmonious with NATO and the European Union as possible, even if it does not participate in Western sanctions against Russia.”

He added to the Turkish newspaper, Cumhuriyet, on March 22, that “Ankara's neutral stance reduces the effectiveness of Western sanctions, because Turkiye has become a destination for Russians who want to communicate with the outside world.”

It quoted Olaf Koens, a Dutch RTL correspondent accompanying Rutte on his visit, as saying that “talks with Erdogan are very sensitive, because there is a great conflict within NATO, with Turkiye supporting Ukraine with effective operations and at the same time possessing the Russian S-400 system, and now there is talk of rebuilding this system.”

“This meeting is also very important for Erdogan with the approach of the elections in 2023 and the losses incurred by the Turkish lira, so there is a need to confront this,” he explained.

On this point, Zurcher said: “Turkiye has a lot to lose economically, but politically, it has a lot to gain from this war.”

“Erdogan's role as a mediator in the Russian-Ukrainian war gave him the opportunity to strengthen relations between Turkiye and the West, and he wants to make his country an attractive investment center for foreign reserves once again,” he pointed out.

Prior to Rutte's visit, Turkiye witnessed in recent weeks an active diplomatic movement, most notably the visits of the leaders of Germany, Greece, Poland and Israel.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also announced, on the sidelines of the last NATO summit, that his country decided with France and Turkiye to re-work the cooperation platform between the three countries and to meet soon.

This was confirmed by Cavusoglu during his participation in the Doha Forum on March 26, by saying: “France and Italy are seriously considering implementing joint manufacturing of the SAMP/ T air defense system in Turkiye.”

On this, the Turkish political expert Duran says: “We are facing a strategic shift in Turkish-Western relations. There is a tendency to lift the sanctions imposed on the Turkish defense industries, and the emergence of Ankara's role in the issue of supplying natural gas to Europe.”

“The path of the Ukraine crisis confirms that the United States and the European Union are determined to reduce Russia and weaken Putin,” he adds.

“By combining its balanced policy in the Ukraine crisis, and its policy of normalization with the United States, the European Union, the Gulf, Greece and Israel, Turkiye is ready to contribute to the strategic transformation of its relations with the West,” he stated.

On her part, Turkish writer Hilal Kaplan said: “Even a year ago, there was talk in the European media and political circles about the option of excluding Turkiye from NATO, but today everyone understands the importance of Ankara in the alliance more than before.”

In an article published in Sabah newspaper on March 25, she added, “Turkiye's ability to talk to Moscow and Kiev, and its remaining as a single NATO member country, is taken into account by Russia despite the implementation of the Montreux Convention. As well as its remarkable campaign in the defense industries, led by the Bayraktar TB2 drones, in addition to being an indispensable country in the energy and trade paths, all of this has a role in that.”