Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hits out at Dutch politician Wilders

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned his ire to Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, whose tweet describing Erdogan as a "terrorist" was given prominence by several senior members of Turkey's government and ruling party on Sunday.

The president said Turks had been made targets for uncovering rising racism in Europe.

He added: "Fascism is not in our book, it is in your book."

Three years ago, Erdogan sparked controversy when he called the Dutch government "Nazi remnants and fascists" over blocks on campaigning among the Netherlands' Turkish diaspora ahead of a referendum on enlarging his powers.

Meanwhile, France recalled its ambassador to Turkey for consultations after Erdogan said Saturday, President Emmanuel Macron needed mental health treatment and made other comments that the French government described as unacceptably rude.

Erdogan questioned his French counterpart's mental condition while criticising Macron’s attitude toward Islam and Muslims.

(Image: AP)