Erdogan calls for retaliatory sanctions over U.S. pastor
ISTANBUL » President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said Saturday that he was ordering reciprocal sanctions against two U.S. officials in retaliation for U.S. measures against two of his ministers, escalating a diplomatic wrangle between the NATO allies.
“Those who think that they can make Turkey take a step back with ridiculous sanctions have never known this country or this nation,” Erdogan said in a speech in the capital, Ankara. “We have never bowed our heads to such pressure and will never do so.”
The Turkish action came after the White House announced sanctions freezing the assets of the Turkish interior and justice ministers this past week, in protest against Turkey’s detention of an American pastor, Andrew Brunson.
Erdogan said he would order his government to “freeze the assets” in Turkey of the U.S. counterparts of the targeted Turkish officials, describing them as “the U.S. justice and interior ministers.” Such an order would be largely symbolic. It’s unclear whether U.S. officials would have assets in Turkey. The United States has sought the release of Brunson, 50, who leads the evangelical Resurrection Church in the city of Izmir, since his detention 21 months ago on charges of espionage and assisting terrorist groups. U.S. officials say Brunson is innocent and is being held by the Turkish government as a bargaining chip to leverage its interests in U.S. court cases.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has taken up the case of the pastor, as have several U.S. senators, describing him as a prisoner of conscience. President Donald Trump has raised the case personally with Erdogan, including in a phone call.
The case is one of a litany of disagreements between Turkey and the United States, including U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in Syria and the United States’ refusal to extradite the U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused by Erdogan of instigating the 2016 coup attempt against the Turkish president.
Washington has been angered by Turkey’s detention of 20 U.S. citizens, including Brunson.