The Netherlands and Turkey have expressed their support for the opposition in Syria. The foreign ministers of the two countries, Uri Rosenthal and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu, met on Tuesday for the start of celebrations in the Netherlands marking 400 years of diplomatic relations.

Speaking at a press conference in Rotterdam, Mr Davutoglu said Turkey has taken in 10,000 refugees from Syria, adding that the biggest problem is reaching the people in the besieged city of Homs. The Netherlands is helping opponents of the Assad regime break through website blockades, although Mr Rosenthal would not give any further details about the kind of assistance being given.

Turkey’s foreign minister took the opportunity to stress Turkey’s appreciation for Dutch support for Ankara’s EU membership bid. He said little about comments made by Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders in a newspaper article at the end of 2011, in which the anti-Islam politician said he saw no reason to celebrate the 400th anniversary of ties with Turkey.

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RNW