Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called Erdoğan's remarks "unacceptable" and a "vile falsification of history" and demanded an apology.

The Turkish referendum held on 16 April 2017 concerned a series of constitutional amendments that, if approved, would transform the country from a parliamentary democracy into a presidential system, under which President Erdoğan would be able to stand in two more elections, theoretically allowing him to govern as a powerful head of state until 2029.

Critics of the proposed changes have expressed their fears of increased authoritarianism, whereas supporters claim the new system would make the Turkish state stronger and safer.

[7] This led to a series of telephonic contacts between Koenders and Çavuşoğlu, as well as between Rutte and the Turkish prime minister Binali Yıldırım.

[7] According to Çavuşoğlu, the Dutch government told him that it objected to a visit because it feared that it would lead to an electoral victory of the anti-Islamic Party for Freedom.

[7] When no consensus was reached, the Dutch made a final offer on 10 March: Çavuşoğlu would be allowed access to the Turkish embassy in The Hague.

Koenders cited risks to public order and security for the decision, and further stated that, although the Dutch government did not approve of the planned visit, he would not infringe upon the constitutional right of freedom of assembly.

[7] Later that day, Wilders in an interview with Al Jazeera claimed it was pressure from his party that convinced Rutte not to grant landing rights.

[7] At the time, the Turkish Minister of Family and Social Policies, Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, was touring Germany.

[7] On 11 March, the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service received information that Kaya would try to reach Rotterdam by car.

[8] A crisis centre was established on the twenty-third floor of the Rotterdam World Port Center to coordinate police actions.

[7] The minister now left the car and demanded entrance to the consulate invoking the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

[17] However, on 2 May the case was dropped when it transpired that Kaya had never been formally declared persona non grata and that from a judicial point of view she had left the Netherlands voluntarily.

Rotterdam councillor Turan Yazır, a Dutch-Turkish citizen and supporter of Fethullah Gülen, was granted leave of absence after receiving threats and having his details published by the Daily Sabah newspaper, which also accused him of working with Geert Wilders.

The ministry added that on-going talks aimed at resolving the dispute had come to a halt, and that neither of the parties involved had agreed to normalize diplomatic ties.

[60] While the tension between the two countries still continues, on 22 February 2018, the Dutch House of Representatives unanimously adopted the bill recognizing the Armenian genocide.