There is no need for Turkey to apologise about any criticism of the Dutch integration debate, prime minister Mark Rutte said on Friday.

Speaking after the weekly cabinet meeting, Rutte said it had been made clear to Turkey that it has no role to play in the Netherlands.

‘They said [the criticism] was not directed at [the government] so apologies are not necessary,’ Rutte said. The Netherlands has made it clear that it decides its own policies and has ‘no interest in advice from Turkey,’ Rutte continued.

Turkey has since said that apparent accusations of racism and discrimination against Dutch Turks were not aimed at the government.

Foreign minister Bert Koenders also said he had made the Dutch position clear to his Turkish counterpart. ‘I have explained that the Dutch government does not want any interference in the democratic integration debate in the Netherlands,’ he said.