The Netherlands, Turkey re-appoint ambassadors to mend ties

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s foreign ministry says the country and the Netherlands have taken a further step in normalizing relations by re-appointing ambassadors to each other’s capitals.

The two countries withdrew ambassadors last year over a row triggered by a Dutch decision to bar Turkish officials from campaigning on Dutch soil during a referendum campaign over increasing the powers of the president.

In a statement Friday, Turkey’s foreign ministry said Saban Disli, a former legislator from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, was appointed ambassador to the Netherlands.

It added that the Dutch foreign minister would visit Turkey in the first week of October in the “next step in normalization of affairs.”

Details of the new Dutch ambassador to Turkey were not immediately available.