THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has bluntly rejected an appeal by his Turkish counterpart for ministerial-level talks over the case of a boy taken from his Turkish parents in the Netherlands and placed in the foster care of a lesbian couple.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says placing a child from a Muslim background with lesbians could breach his nation's "moral and religious values."
The spat over the 9-year-old boy, identified only as Yunus, has overshadowed Thursday's day-long visit by Erdogan to the Netherlands.
While Erdogan called for ministerial talks, Rutte told reporters: "The placing of Dutch foster children is the responsibility of the Netherlands alone. Nobody else."
Erdogan is visiting the Netherlands to boost trade and mark four centuries of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Fox News' "Antisemitism Exposed" newsletter brings you stories on the rising anti-Jewish prejudice across the U.S. and the world.