LLR Postponement of visit from Turkish Prime Minister

The Prime Minister’s Office confirms that there has been a dialogue with Turkish officials on a possible working visit in Denmark by the Prime Minister of Turkey. The dialogue has been ongoing for some weeks in order to set up a meeting later this month.

In light of the increased tensions between Turkey on the one hand and Germany and the Netherlands on the other, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen has proposed to postpone the meeting.

“Under normal circumstances it would be a pleasure for me to greet Prime Minister Yildirim in Copenhagen. I had a frank and constructive meeting with him in Ankara on 10 December last year. But with the current rhetorical attacks by Turkey against the Netherlands, a new meeting cannot be seen isolated from that. I have therefore suggested to my Turkish colleague that our meeting is postponed.

The Danish Government is observing current developments in Turkey with great concern as democratic principles are under considerable pressure. Normally this would not hinder a meeting, but rather make it even more relevant as it would present an opportunity to express our concerns directly. However, the characterization of the Western democracies and the current rhetorical attacks against the Netherlands by Turkey means that a meeting right now would be interpreted as if Denmark is viewing developments in Turkey more mildly which is not at all the case.”

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For further information, contact press secretary Sabrina Drevsfeldt Theil, 61 98 50 60.