Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a ceremony in Sakarya, Turkey, March 16, 2017. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had lost the friendship of Ankara after a diplomatic row between the NATO allies over a ban on Turkish ministers speaking in the Netherlands.

Erdogan’s comments, at a rally in the northwestern province of Sakarya, came a day after Rutte fought off the challenge of anti-Islam and anti-EU rival Geert Wilders in an election victory hailed across much of Europe.

Erdogan also slammed the European Union for its ruling allowing companies to ban staff from wearing Islamic headscarves under certain conditions.

“Shame on the EU. Down with your European principles, values and justice... They started a clash between the cross and the crescent, there is no other explanation,” he said.