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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives at a session of the 10th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Gianluigi Guercia / AFP / Getty Images)
ISTANBUL – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has Sunday rejected President Trump threatens to impose sanctions on Turkey for detaining an American pastor for nearly two years, saying his government would remain firm and that the United States would risk losing a "partner" strong and sincere ".
Erdogan, addressing reporters in South Africa, also confirmed a report in the Washington Post that Trump had intervened to help secure the release of a Turkish citizen detained by Israel on charges of terrorism. But he denied that Turkey had offered to release the pastor, Andrew Brunson, in return for Trump's intervention. "This type of negotiation has not occurred," Erdogan said.
The remarks were Erdogan's first public response to an angry message that Trump posted on Twitter on Thursday, warning that he would lift "big sanctions" against Turkey over Brunson's imprisonment , who has been accused by the Turkish authorities of supporting terrorist groups. US officials say that he is innocent.
Vice President Mike Pence made a similar warning on Thursday, which amounted to an unusually vigorous public reprimand from the White House of a NATO ally and a sign of deterioration rapid relations between the two governments.
On Sunday, Pence reiterated the warning, writing on Twitter, "The United States of America is ready to impose sanctions against Turkey until Pastor Andrew Brunson is free . "
The White House has repeatedly called for the release of Brunson, who comes from North Carolina and has been living in Turkey for more than two decades. US officials were surprised when a Turkish court released Brunson from prison last week but ordered him to keep him under house arrest while his trial continued, rather than being acquitted or deported to the United States.
Trump believes he has reached an agreement with Erdogan to definitively resolve the Brunson case at a friendly meeting between the two leaders at the NATO summit on July 11 and 12, to exchange a Turkish citizen imprisoned on terrorism charges in Israel. to White House officials and people familiar with the case.
Trump has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to release Ebru Ozkan, a 27-year-old Turkish woman detained for helping Hamas, the Palestinian militant group. On July 15, she was deported to Turkey. But in the next 10 days, there was no sign of movement in Brunson's case.
After a difficult phone call with Erdogan on Thursday, Trump tweeted his threat of sanctions.
Turkish officials immediately denied the existence of an agreement. Erdogan said Sunday that Turkish justice had placed Brunson under house arrest "with good intentions" because the pastor had health problems. "Just as America has its judiciary, so does Turkey," he said.
"Instead of respecting the decision of the judiciary, they make it a question of sanctions against Turkey," said Erdogan. He said that his government was discussing a series of issues with the United States, including Erdogan 's request that the Trump administration extradite a US – based Turkish priest accused of the crime. orchestrate a failed coup d'état. in Turkey two years ago. The religious, Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, denied the charges.
In a speech last year, Erdogan suggested that Gulen could be traded for Brunson. On Sunday, he said "we have never made Brunson a subject of negotiations."
Read more
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