Secretary of State Pompeo was surprised by Trump's threats against Turkey

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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was surprised by the threats made against Turkey by President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, according to two state department sources.

The threats concern the fate of North Carolina pastor Andrew Brunson, who was arrested by Turkish officials for alleged terrorism and espionage. Trump tweeted Thursday that "the United States will impose heavy sanctions on Turkey" to keep Brunson in detention.

Trump called him "a great Christian, a family man and a wonderful human being."

Earlier, Pence warned of "significant sanctions" against Turkey as he spoke at the ministerial conference to advance religious freedom in Washington

Pompeo, hosting the three-day confab , was surprised to hear the speech hard, sources said. [19659004] The secretary of state had been involved in delicate negotiations to try to release the 50-year-old pastor, who had been jailed for a year and a half on what the United States argues are false accusations related to a failed coup d'état against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkey cited health reasons for releasing Brunson in house arrest on Wednesday. Erdogan has requested the extradition of a Pennsylvania-based Turkish cleric, Fethullah Gulen, whom the leader held responsible for the failure of the military coup of July 2016.

The US threats, after Pence met privately with Brunson's family The scenes of the religious conference on Thursday served to harden Turkey's resolve in this affair, which could allow the pastor to serve 20 years when he was recognized guilty.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted on Thursday: "No one dictates Turkey, we will never tolerate the threats of anyone, the rule of law is for everyone, no exception "

No one dictates Turkey. We will never tolerate the threats of anyone. The rule of law is for everyone;

– Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) July 26, 2018

Turkey, traditional window of the West on Asia, the Middle East and the multiple post-Soviet states, is a geographically strategic ally

And this is not the first time in recent days that the Secretary of State has been surprised by the White House tweets on foreign policy, despite the proximity of Pompeo with the president

. The State Department confirmed to NBC News that Pompeo, like National Intelligence Director Dan Coats, was unaware that National Security Advisor John Bolton had asked press secretary Sarah Sanders to tweet an invitation from the House. White to Russian President Vladimir Putin last Thursday

. The invitation to Putin was tweeted while an apparently surprise Coats was on stage with Andrea Mitchell of NBC News at the Aspen Security Forum last week. Yesterday, shortly before Pompeo went to Capitol Hill and was subjected to a fire of criticism by senators from both political parties on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bolton withdrew the invitation.