Turkish minister refuses to budge on Brunson as US talks focus on bank
Turkey’s deputy foreign minister refused to commit to the release of the detained United States pastor Andrew Brunson during talks in Washington on Wednesday, after last week’s escalation with Ankara.
Instead, Sedat Onal’s delegation raised concerns about a state-run lender, Halkbank, that is under investigation for its role in a scheme to evade US sanctions on Iran. The Turkish bank faces the prospect of a large fine by the US Treasury, according to an official.
The Turkish delegation included eight members from the finance, justice and foreign ministries, who met State Department and Treasury officials in Washington. No deal was reached.
The lira fell about 3 per cent on Thursday to a record low.
The State Department said that Deputy Secretary John Sullivan held a 45-minute meeting with Mr Onal and “discussed a range of bilateral matters, including Pastor Brunson”.
The visiting delegation then went to the Treasury for further discussions. They were expected to arrive back in Turkey on Thursday.
Mr Brunson has been detained in Izmir since October 2016, and efforts to secure his release hit a roadblock last month, prompting US President Donald Trump’s government to take measures against Turkey. These included sanctions on the interior and justice ministers, Suleyman Soylu and Abdulhamit Gul.
Despite renewed negotiations last week over the release of Mr Brunson, no agreement was reached.
As reported in Turkey’s Daily Sabah newspaper, US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said talks “would continue”.
On Tuesday, Ms Nauert said: “If we had reached any type of agreement, I think you’d see Pastor Brunson back here at home, along with the other American citizens.
“The kind of progress that we want is for Pastor Brunson, our locally employed staff, and other American citizens to be brought home. That’s the real progress that we’re looking for, and obviously we’re not there just yet.”
Mr Brunson was detained six months after he made a visa renewal application. He has lived in Turkey for a quarter of a century.
In December 2016, he was charged with being a member of an armed terrorist organisation. Court records suggested the charges linked him to Fethullah Gulen and his supporters, the organisation the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames for a coup attempt earlier in July of that year.
Aaron Stein, a scholar who focuses on Turkey at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Centre for the Middle East, told The National: “Turkish officials have a clear pathway to de-escalate this situation. It entails taking yes for an answer on the proposed arrangement on offer as late as July 17.”
The US had reportedly been expecting Mr Brunson’s release on July 18, the day of his appearance in court, but instead he was detained in jail until the next hearing in October. A week later he was moved to house arrest.
“Ankara is flummoxed and doesn’t really know what to do. They have a yes from the Americans if they want to take it,” Mr Stein said, referring to the reported arrangement between the two.
According to The Washington Post, Mr Trump and Mr Erdogan agreed on a deal that would release Mr Brunson and, in exchange, Turkish national Ebru Ozkan would be released by Israel. Ms Ozkhan was released on July 16.
Mr Erdogan is reportedly seeking the release of Mehmet Hakan Atilla, a Turkish banker who is serving a 32-month sentence in New York for evading sanctions against Iran.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not meet the Turkish delegation but held a phone conversation with his Ankara counterpart, Mevlut Çavusoglu, on Monday.
US Defence Secretary James Mattis also spoke to his counterpart Hulusi Akar and discussed defence relations, Syria and counter-terrorism.
US Congress moved late last month to block further F-35 deliveries to Turkey until it cancels the S-400 defence system deal with Russia and Mr Brunson is released.
Despite the lack of progress in Washington, transatlantic talks over the release of Mr Brunson will continue