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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday accused US pastor Andrew Brunson of having "dark links with terror", saying he was not backing away from Brunson's detention.
Erdoğan, in a speech to the Turkish parliament, said that he intended to defend himself against President Trump
Donald John TrumpKavanaugh polls: the FBI in the hot seat Kanye West criticizes the 13th amendment on Twitter Feinstein calls the White House, the FBI to release the scope of the Kavanaugh PLUS investigationThe campaign for the release of Brunson, stating that he would resist "this twisted deal, which imposes sanctions under the excuse of a pastor tried because of his dark connections with terrorist organizations", according to Reuters.
The United States in recent months has intensified pressure on Turkey for it to free Brunson by imposing sanctions and endangering tariffs against Turkey.
Trump accused Turkey of holding Brunson hostage, using the pastor's arrest as a unifying call among Christian conservatives, especially the evangelicals.
Trump called the accusations against Brunson unfounded.
Brunson has been detained for two years in Turkey, after claiming to have helped the group accused of orchestrating the failed coup of July 2016.
In August, a Turkish appeals court confirmed Brunson's house arrest.
"We are deeply saddened by the current US government, a strategic partner, which targets our country without any logical, political and strategic coherence," Erdoğan said on Monday.
The Turkish lira reached a record low in August on US tariffs, but Erdoğan said Monday that the value of the currency has been steadily improving since then.
"Our economy has started to rebalance with the measures we have taken, the meetings we have done and the programs we have developed," he said, according to Reuters.
The Turkish leader said that he hoped that relations with the United States would improve, while recognizing that mutual understanding "is not at the desired level".
Erdoğan said at the end of September that it is the Turkish courts, not the politicians, who will decide Brunson's fate.
Trump, at the end of August, said that he was "very disappointed" at Erdoğan for not having released Brunson, adding that "there will be no concessions ".
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