BRUSSELS, Feb 14 (KUNA) -- Dutch Prime minister Mark Rutte has survived a no confidence vote over his handling of the Foreign Minister Halbe Zijlstra's affair, Dutch media reported Wednesday.
Zijlstra resigned as foreign minister yesterday after admitting he lied about a meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Rutte survived the no-confidence vote held Tuesday by 43 votes to 101.
He told the Dutch parliament that he had under-estimated the impact of Zijlstra's lie and had thought he could continue in the job because he had a good explanation.
"I thought it was a sin, but not a deadly sin," Rutte said. (end) nk.rk