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The US State Department said Saturday that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had discussed US pastor Andrew Brunson, held in Turkey for terrorism and spying. Heather Nauert, State Department spokeswoman, said the two diplomats were "committed to continuing discussions to solve the problem and address other issues of common interest".
Brunson, evangelical pastor of Black Mountain, North Carolina a network led by Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim preacher based in the United States, whom Turkey attributes to the 2016 coup d'etat against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in addition to supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), banned.
between Turkey and the United States, both allies of NATO. US President Donald Trump has threatened sanctions as part of a pressure campaign to free the pastor.
Brunson had been in prison for 21 months before being placed under house arrest on Wednesday. His transfer came a week after a court inside a penitentiary complex in the city of Aliaga, in western Turkey, decided to keep Brunson in detention during his trial. The court denied Brunson's request that Brunson be released pending the outcome of the trial, which was adjourned until October 12.
Brunson, 50, who denies the charges, could be sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Pompeo wrote Wednesday on Twitter that Brunson's transfer was "long awaited news" but added that the United States was waiting for Ankara to do more.
Trump has repeatedly called for the release of Brunson. The US President tweeted that Brunson's detention is "a total disgrace" and added, "He has done nothing wrong, and his family needs him!"
Brunson is one of tens of thousands of people held by Erdogan
The state of emergency ended on July 18, but the Turkish legislature on Wednesday adopted a new "anti-terrorist" law that gives more powers to the authorities to detain suspects and restore public order.
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