ANKARA, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Turkey and the Netherlands have decided to normalize bilateral relations and reinstate ambassadors after more than one year of diplomatic row.
The Hague and Ankara simultaneously declared decision to normalize diplomatic relations on Friday after an agreement was reached in a phone call between Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Dutch counterpart Stef Blok.
On July 11, the two ministers met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels and discussed the "regretful events that took place in March 2017, which resulted in deterioration of the relations between the Netherlands and Turkey," Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement.
"The two ministers underlined that Turkey and the Netherlands have been two friendly countries and NATO allies that have many common interests. They have had intensive relations for over four centuries, have been NATO allies for over six decades and enjoy substantial trade and investment ties. The two ministers stated their respective countries' readiness for normalization of affairs," said the ministry.
Following this "positive" meeting at the NATO summit, both ministers took the initiative to contact one another again and the Netherlands' Minister of Foreign Affairs wrote a letter to his Turkish counterpart, whereas the Turkish minister called the Netherlands side, according to the statement.
The two ministers referred to the 400 years of friendly and economic ties between the two countries. They stated that it is important to normalize relationships in light of tackling migration and combating terrorism.
The ministers also agreed that the Dutch minister will pay an official visit to Turkey in late August or September, Minister Cavusoglu said in a televised interview on Friday.
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that a new ambassador would be sent to Ankara as soon as possible and that decision must first be approved by the Council of Ministers.
Ties between the two countries soured after Dutch authorities canceled the flight permit of a plane carrying Foreign Minister Cavusoglu for a referendum campaign in 2017. The Netherlands also expelled Family and Social Affairs Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya from Rotterdam, when she wanted to address the local Turkish community without permission.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan then accused the Netherlands of Nazism and fascism, and declared that the Dutch ambassador was no longer welcome.
Turkey and the Netherlands were recently in talks for normalization of relations in early 2018, but failed.
"Recent talks offered Turkey and the Netherlands an opportunity to come closer to each other, but we have not been able to agree on the way normalization should take place," said Dutch Foreign Minister Halbe Zijlstra in February.
Therefore, the Dutch government has decided to officially withdraw its ambassador to Ankara, who has not had access to Turkey since March 2017, the minister said.
As long as the Netherlands had no ambassador to Turkey, the Hague did not issue permission for a new Turkish ambassador to take duties in the Netherlands.
Ankara was asking the Dutch government to issue an apology for expelling of Minister Kaya, but parties could not agree at that time.
At the moment, Ankara and the Hague found a midpoint formula and used the phrase of "regretful events that took place in March 2017" in the statements.
In the period of tension since last year, the Netherlands has granted asylum to 73 percent of the applications of Turkish suspects linked to the coup attempt in July 15, 2016. The Turkish government accuses members of Gulen movement for being behind the coup attempt and urges other countries to refuse applications from members of the group.
A total of 509 asylum applications were made by Turkish nationals to the Dutch government in 2017.
