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WASHINGTON – The United States and Turkey lifted sanctions against senior officials of their respective governments on Friday, in the sign of a warming of diplomatic relations between the two NATO allies after Libya's release. An American pastor.
The Trump administration had imposed financial penalties on two Turkish officials in August to punish the country for the two-year detention of Pastor Andrew Brunson. In turn, Turkey imposed its own sanctions on Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security.
In Ankara, Hami Aksoy, spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry, said the sanctions against Sessions and Nielsen "responded on the principle of reciprocity, the foundation of diplomatic practices."
He added that these constraints – including a ban on travel to Turkey, the freezing of all assets in Turkey and a ban on any financial transaction with persons or entities in Turkey – have been lifted in parallel with the repealed sanctions of the Minister of Finance. Turkish Justice Abdulhamit Gül and the Minister of the Interior, Suleyman Soylu.
The Treasury Department updated its list of people sanctioned on Friday to dismiss the two Turkish officials.
Brunson's release came a week after the death of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
At the time, Turkish officials had claimed to believe that Saudi officials had killed Mr. Khashoggi inside the consulate – a plot that President Trump and other US officials have also described as likely , standing against Riyadh despite a nascent alliance between the White House and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.
Mr Brunson has been accused of spying and assisting terrorists in the 2016 coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His release appeared to represent an olive branch and American support as Turkey confronted the Saudis following the murder of Mr. Khashoggi.
In addition, Turkish officials said that Hulusi Akar, the Minister of National Defense, had spoken to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. "Two ministers exchanged views on bilateral defense relations, Syria and counter-terrorism," a statement from the Turkish ministry said.
