Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte and Turkey’s premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan disagree about what to do about the case of Turkish foster child Yunus, news agency ANP said on Thursday.

The two prime ministers held talks on Thursday afternoon and met the press for a joint news conference afterwards.

ANP said Turkey asked for the issue to be discussed at ministerial level, but Rutte has turned down the request. ‘I did not agree this should be discussed by ministers,’ Rutte told reporters.

‘We consider the best possible care for the child to be paramount… and as long as there are not enough Islamic foster parents, we will do what is in the child’s best interests,’ the prime minister said.

Mother

The nine-year-old boy has been cared for by a lesbian couple since he was a few months old. The boy’s older brothers have been returned to their biological mother but judges have said Yunus should remain where he is.

The case has led to some disquiet in Turkey about the fostering of Turkish children by gay couples and Christians.

Earlier in the day, Erdogan met queen Beatrix. A private visit to the Keukenhof tulip garden set for the morning was cancelled