Parliament speaker calls US sanctions ‘unlawful and arbitrary’

US is a threat to Turkey: İbrahim Karagül

Yeni Şafak Editor-In-Chief İbrahim Karagül stressed that Turkey urgently needs to halt all joint initiatives with the U.S. and close down the Incirlik Air Base as a response to the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to impose sanctions on the Justice Minister and Interior Minister.Ibrahim Karagül’s 11-point call for action came after the Brunson crisis and U.S threats against Turkey.White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders had said the U.S. would impose sanctions on Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül for not releasing American Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey.Turkey will not hesitate to respond to US sanctions: Dep presidentBrunson, a Christian pastor from North Carolina who has lived in Turkey for more than two decades, was indicted on charges of having links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), which Ankara blames for the failed coup in 2016. He was transferred to house arrest on July 25.Karagül’s 11-point call for action is as follows:1- The U.S. has attacked Turkey and killed hundreds of thousands of our people through the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and other terrorist organizations for 40 years.2- It has attacked Turkey openly; attempted an occupation, civil war and assassination of our country’s president by using FETÖ terrorists on July 15.3- The U.S. wants to restrain Turkey on its own orbit by taking it hostage and when Turkey refuses this, they try to drive it into a corner by using threats, sanctions and blackmail.Interior minister slams US sanctions move4- The U.S. tries to plot Turkey’s rapprochement with emerging powers such as Russia and China. Turkey’s new economic initiatives with these powers worry them.5- The U.S.’s sanctions against Turkey’s Interior minister Süleyman Soylu and Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül should be responded to in kind.6- The new world is being built and it doesn’t consist of the U.S. alone.7- The strategic alliance of Turkey and the U.S. has come to an end. There is no moral ground of this alliance relationship anymore.US sanctions move 'abdication of reason': Turkish MP8- The U.S. has become the biggest threat to Turkey.9- While this fact is blatant, all the initiatives to build an alliance with the U.S. again are now a crime.10- The military bases of the U.S. – that have murdered thousands of our people, and threatened our country explicitly- should be shut down immediately, especially Incirlik Air Base.11- Turkey should never step back against the U.S. sanctions and the U.S. must be declared as a threat to Turkey.Video: Erdoğan slams ‘US evangelist, Zionist mentality’

US sanctions move 'abdication of reason': Turkish MP

The head of Turkish parliament's constitutional committee has described the U.S. decision to impose sanctions on two Turkish ministers as an "abdication of reason"."The U.S. administration's decision is far from good sense, an abdication of reason, a lack of foresight," Bekir Bozdağ said on his official Twitter account on Thursday."The U.S. cannot take what it wants from Turkey with a method that is against international law, unlawful and presuming," Bozdag, a lawmaker from Yozgat province, added.On Wednesday night, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the U.S. was imposing sanctions on Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, and Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul for not releasing American Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey.Sanders said the U.S. would block "any property, or interest in property of the two ministers".The head of Turkish parliament's education, culture and sport committee also called on the U.S. to reverse its decision on the sanctions."We call on the U.S. administration to turn from this decision that has the characteristics of intervention into [Turkey's] justice system," Numan Kulturmus, a lawmaker from Istanbul province, said.Kurtulmus said Turkey would "promptly give response to that kind of aggressive manner".The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday also strongly protested against U.S. Treasury Department's decision, calling on the U.S. administration to reverse its "wrong decision".Brunson has been charged in Turkey with spying for the PKK -- a designated terrorist group in the U.S. and Turkey -- and U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the defeated July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey which martyred 251 people and injured thousands.Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Turkey will not hesitate to respond to US sanctions: Dep president

Turkish Deputy President slammed a U.S. move to impose sanctions on Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül in a Twitter post on Thursday."The latest developments prove once more to the world that being a great state is not related to economic, military or geographical size," Fuat Oktay wrote on his official Twitter account.“Being a great state requires acting within the framework of international laws, remaining loyal to agreements and the principles of justice and respectability, holding the interests of the majority above the minority and always standing by the oppressed,” he added.Interior minister slams US sanctions move“We are a great state with our flag, homeland and people. We will not hesitate for a split second to do what great nations must do under the leadership of our president,” Oktay said.Oktay’s remarks came a day after White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said the U.S. would impose sanctions on Soylu and Gül for not releasing American Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey.Sanders said the U.S. would block "any property, or interest in property of the two ministers".Four Turkish political parties protest US sanctionsJustice Minister Gül said Wednesday he does not own any property or have money outside Turkey.The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday strongly protested against U.S. Treasury Department's decision, calling on the U.S. administration to reverse its "wrong decision."Brunson has been charged with spying for the PKK -- a designated terrorist group in the U.S. and Turkey -- and U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), the group behind the defeated July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey which martyred 251 people and injured thousands.Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.Turkey strongly protests against US sanctions decision

Interior minister slams US sanctions move

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu reacted to a U.S. move to impose sanctions on him and the country's justice minister in a Twitter post on Thursday."We have a property in America: FETÖ. We will not leave it there. We will get it," Soylu wrote on his official Twitter account.Soylu's remarks came a day after White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said the U.S. would impose sanctions on Soylu, and Abdulhamit Gul, the justice minister, for not releasing American Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey.Erdoğan says US's threatening language will not benefit anyoneSanders said the U.S. would block "any property, or interest in property of the two ministers".Justice Minister Gul said Wednesday he does not own any property or have money outside Turkey.Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday strongly protested against U.S. Treasury Department's decision, calling on the U.S. administration to reverse its "wrong decision".Turkey is not without alternatives: Presidential aideBrunson has been charged with spying for the PKK -- a designated terrorist group in the U.S. and Turkey -- and U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), the group behind the defeated July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey which martyred 251 people and injured thousands.Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.Four Turkish political parties protest US sanctionsTurkey strongly protests against US sanctions decision

Four Turkish political parties protest US sanctions

Four Turkish political parties protested Thursday against U.S. sanctions on two ministers “in the strongest way”.“We say ‘no’ to the U.S. threats with common solidarity and determination of our nation,” said the Justice and Development (AK) Party, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Good (IYI) Party in a joint statement.It added that it was the right of the executive body, or presidency, to give the necessary response to the U.S. based on the principle of international reciprocity.Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the "U.S. attempt to impose sanctions on our two ministers will not go unanswered.”One of the ministers targeted for sanctions, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul, said on his Twitter account that he does not own any property or have money outside Turkey.Previously, White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said the U.S. would impose sanctions on Turkey’s ministers of justice and interior for not releasing American Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey.Sanders said the U.S. would block the properties, if any, of the two ministers.In a written statement published Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department said Gul and Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu "played leading roles in the organizations responsible for the arrest and detention of Pastor Andrew Brunson".According to U.S. law, those mentioned on the sanctions list will have any of their assets and properties under U.S. jurisdiction blocked and American businesses and individuals will be prohibited from engaging in financial transactions with them.- Brunson indictmentBrunson has been charged with spying for the PKK -- a designated terrorist group in the U.S. and Turkey -- and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the defeated July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey which martyred 251 people and injured thousands.The American pastor was arrested in October 2016. The Izmir 5th Penal Court of Peace on Dec. 9 of that year ordered Brunson's continued detention pending trial.On July 25, the 2nd High Criminal Court in Izmir decided to turn Brunson's detention into house arrest in light of his health problems.Izmir Public Prosecutor Berkant Karakaya's indictment stated that Brunson acted in accordance with terrorist groups' strategies under the pretext of being a man of religion. It added that Brunson knew the aims of such groups and yet still willingly cooperated with them.In the indictment, Brunson was mentioned as getting in touch with FETO's high-ranking members using their aliases. He was accused of determining his strategies by getting in touch with FETO fugitives Bekir Baz, his assistant Murat Safa and Amnesty International's Turkey branch head Taner Kilic, who is awaiting trial in prison for "being a member of an armed terrorist group".In the technical investigation, 293 close GSM signals were detected from Brunson with fugitive Bekir Baz.The indictment also mentions a message Brunson sent to a U.S. soldier expressing sadness over the July 2016 defeated coup.The text message said: “We were expecting an earthquake to shake the Turkish nation. The conditions returning to Jesus were met now. Many Turks relied on the military like in the past, but this time it was too late. Another blow after the coup attempt. I think the situation is going to get worse. We'll win at the end."

Turkey strongly protests against US sanctions decision

Turkey strongly protests against a decision by the U.S. Treasury Department to impose sanctions on two ministers, the Foreign Ministry said in a written statement late Wednesday."An equivalent response to this aggressive attitude will be given without delay," it said.The ministry called on the U.S. administration to reverse its "wrong decision"."There is no doubt that the decision, which disrespectfully intervenes in our judicial system, stands in contrast to the essence of our relations and will seriously damage the constructive efforts made in order to resolve problems between the two countries," it said."U.S. attempt to impose sanctions on our two ministers will not go unanswered," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoglu said on Twitter.He also said the two countries would not resolve issues unless the U.S. administration realizes that Turkey will not give in to unlawful U.S. demands with this method.Turkey is not without alternatives: Presidential aideOn his Twitter account, one of the ministers targeted for sanctions, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul, said he does not own any property or have money outside Turkey.He added that his only dream was to live in Turkey until the end of his life.Previously, White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said the U.S. would impose sanctions on Turkey’s ministers of justice and interior for not releasing American Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey.Turkish business leader blasts threats by Trump, PenceSanders said the U.S. would block the properties, if any, of the two ministers.In a written statement published Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department said Gul and Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu "played leading roles in the organizations responsible for the arrest and detention of Pastor Andrew Brunson".According to U.S. law, those mentioned on the sanctions list will have any of their assets and properties under U.S. jurisdiction blocked and American businesses and individuals will be prohibited from engaging in financial transactions with them.Brunson indictmentBrunson has been charged with spying for the PKK -- a designated terrorist group in the U.S. and Turkey -- and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), the group behind the defeated July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey which martyred 251 people and injured thousands.The American pastor was arrested in October 2016. The Izmir 5th Penal Court of Peace on Dec. 9 of that year ordered Brunson's continued detention pending trial.On July 25, the 2nd High Criminal Court in Izmir decided to turn Brunson's detention into house arrest in light of his health problems.Turkey expects 'mutual respect' in ties with USIzmir Public Prosecutor Berkant Karakaya's indictment stated that Brunson acted in accordance with terrorist groups' strategies under the pretext of being a man of religion. It added that Brunson knew the aims of such groups and yet still willingly cooperated with them.In the indictment, Brunson was mentioned as getting in touch with FETÖ's high-ranking members using their alias. He was accused of determining his strategies by getting in touch with FETÖ fugitives Bekir Baz, his assistant Murat Safa and Amnesty International's Turkey branch head Taner Kilic, who is awaiting trial in prison for "being a member of an armed terrorist group".In the technical investigation, 293 close GSM signals were detected from Brunson with fugitive Bekir Baz.The indictment also mentions a message sent to a U.S. soldier expressing sadness over the July 2016 defeated coup.The text message said: “We were expecting an earthquake to shake the Turkish nation. The conditions returning to Jesus were met now. Many Turks relied on the military like in the past, but this time it was too late. Another blow after the coup attempt. I think the situation is going to get worse. We'll win at the end."

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