U.S. blames Turkey for dispute over detained employees

WASHINGTON ––The U.S. blamed Turkey for instigating the latest dispute between the two countries and said a resolution will depend on how quickly officials explain why two Turkish employees at American outposts in the country were detained this year.

While the White House and State Department stayed silent, John Bass, U.S. ambassador to Turkey, issued a video statement in which he said he hasn’t been told why a Turkish employee working for the U.S. was arrested last week, the second such arrest this year. The embassy stopped issuing nonimmigrant visas in Turkey, a NATO ally and key trading partner, which prompted a retaliatory response by Turkish authorities.

“This was not a decision we took lightly and it’s a decision we took with great sadness,” Bass, a career diplomat, said in his video, posted on YouTube. “We hope it will not last long, but at this time we can’t predict how long it will take to resolve this matter.”

Bass’s unusual statement — and the lack of comment from Washington — was the latest twist in a relationship that seemed likely to improve when President Donald Trump took office in January after deteriorating ties during the Obama administration. As recently as last month at the United Nations, Trump said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “becoming a friend of mine” and that “frankly, he’s getting high marks.”

Below the surface, however, relations frayed since a failed coup against Erdogan in July 2016. The Turkish government blames the attempted overthrow on Fethullah Gulen, an exiled cleric and former Erdogan ally who lives in Pennsylvania. The U.S. has refused to extradite Gulen, citing a lack of evidence against him.

The two countries have also clashed over U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, which Turkey says are aligned with domestic terrorists, and American charges that a former Turkish economy minister and a state bank conspired to help Iran launder hundreds of millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system.

Bass said the employee arrested last week works in an office “devoted to strengthening law enforcement cooperation with Turkish authorities and ensuring the security of Americans and Turkish citizens.”