Turkey fumes as US to halt visa services for citizens
NEW ROW US move follows arrest of consulate staff, other Americans over ties to Gulen ANKARA
: Turkey on Monday pressed the United States to reverse its decision to suspend most visa services for Turkish citizens, saying people from both countries are suffering from the move.
The US on Sunday suspended the issuing of visas for Turks hoping to visit or study in the United States following the arrest of an employee of the US Consulate in Istanbul last week that deepened tensions between the two Nato allies. The measure prompted Turkey to immediately halt visa services in the US in a tit-for-tat response.
The US embassy’s second-incharge, Philip Kosnett, was called to the foreign ministry on Monday where officials conveyed “their expectations” for the United States to halt “the unnecessary escalation” of tensions and to reverse the decision that “victimises” both Turkish and US citizens, a Turkish foreign ministry official said.
The ministry’s top official also discussed the issue with US Ambassador John Bass in a late Sunday telephone call, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Despite the seemingly friendly relations between US President Donald Trump and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ties between the two countries are tense over the arrest of Metin Topuz, a US Consulate employee of Turkish nationality, and other Americans over alleged ties to a movement led by US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government blames for last summer’s failed coup. Gulen denies involvement.
Topuz is accused of espionage and “attempting to overthrow the Turkish government and constitution.” Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency reported that he allegedly communicated with former police chiefs in a 2013 corruption probe, 121 people involved in the attempted coup and hundreds of people using an encrypted mobile messaging application.
The US embassy said it was “deeply disturbed” by the arrest and has complained of reports in Turkey’s pro-government media that it said aimed to try Topuz in the media instead of a court of law.
Other Americans held in Turkey include Pastor Andrew Brunson who was detained last year and is accused of terror-related charges for alleged ties to Gulen’s movement. Erdogan has linked the pastor’s possible release or deportation to Washington agreeing to extradite Gulen to Turkey. The Turkish lira recorded a sharp drop against the dollar on Monday.