Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
The Turkish president said Saturday they will freeze assets of the U.S. "justice and interior" secretaries in Turkey.
"I am instructing my friends today. We will freeze assets, if there are any, of the U.S. justice and interior secretaries in Turkey," Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, speaking at ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party's Women Branch congress in Ankara.
Speaking about the U.S. move to freeze assets of Turkish justice and interior ministers, he said: "This is not logic."
Erdoğan said the Turkish nation will not step back because of "threatening rhetoric and silly decisions" of sanctions.
Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak on Friday said Turkey and the United States needed to work together to overcome the sanctions spat and flaring tensions that ensued after Turkey refused to release American Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey.“The period must be navigated bearing the two countries’ strong historical ties in mind. We must look from today to tomorrow regarding our ties to the U.S.,” Albayrak said.“I spoke with our foreign minister this morning. Both countries are putting forth a reulst-oriented stance. Our ties will never be severed,” he added.Turkey and US agreed to work closely to resolve issues, Turkish minister saysU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, agreed in a meeting in Singapore on Friday to continue to try to resolve issues between the two countries.On Wednesday, White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said that the U.S. had imposed sanctions on Süleyman Soylu, the interior minister, and Abdulhamit Gül, the justice minister, for not releasing American Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey.US, Turkish foreign ministers agree to try to resolve issuesThe finance minister also spoke about Turkey's medium-term program.“We will deliver an announcement in the first half of September. We have spoken to various ministries and initiated a period of austerity. We are aiming for savings of up to 30 percent in the public sector,” Albayrak said.He added the Turkish economy will be based on healthy and sustainable growth Turkey's economy regains its balance.
Turkey, US ties ‘will never be severed,’ says FinMin
"Especially the latest step by America regarding pastor Brunson issue in Izmir, is an ill-fitted step for a strategic partner," he added.
The U.S. on Wednesday imposed 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.
Erdoğan said: "Do not enter a swap deal with us by arresting the deputy general manager of Halkbank, who went to the U.S. and came back six times."
Mehmet Hakan Atilla, former deputy CEO of Turkish state lender Halkbank, has been sentenced to 32 months in prison in the U.S. for violating the sanctions on Iran.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu agreed on Friday to try to resolve a series of disputes, after relations between the NATO allies sank to their lowest point in decades.Their meeting in Singapore followed Washington's imposition on Wednesday of sanctions on two Turkish ministers over the case of Andrew Brunson, a U.S. pastor on trial in Turkey for backing terrorism.State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert described their conversation on the sidelines of a regional ministers' meeting as constructive. "They agreed to continue to try to resolve the issues between our two countries," she said.Turkey and US agreed to work closely to resolve issues, Turkish minister saysÇavuşoğlu said he had repeated Turkey's message that "the threatening language and sanctions does not achieve anything", but added that he and Pompeo would take steps to resolve their differences when they returned home."Of course you can't expect all issues to be resolved in a single meeting," he told Turkish television channels. "But we have agreed to work together, closely cooperate and keep the dialogue in the coming period," he added, also describing the talks as very constructive.Washington imposed sanctions on Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül and Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, accusing them of playing leading roles in organisations responsible for the arrest and detention of Brunson, an evangelical Christian who has lived in Turkey for more than two decades. Turkey says US sanctions unacceptable, have limited economic impactWithin hours Turkey vowed to retaliate "without delay" but since then the tone of comments from Ankara has moderated and so far it has taken no such step. Finance minister Berat Albayrak, who is President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's son-in-law, also said relations with the United States would never break down, despite the temporary escalation.Pompeo told reporters the United States had put Turkey on notice "that the clock had run and it was time for Pastor Brunson to be returned"."I hope they'll see this for what it is, a demonstration that we’re very serious," he said of the sanctions. "We consider this one of the many issues that we have with the Turks."Turkey expects positive results in talks with US over sanctions spat"Brunson needs to come home. As do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government. Pretty straightforward. They’ve been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people," he said. "We are going to work to see if we can find a way forward; I am hopeful that we can."The United States has also been seeking the release of three locally employed embassy staff detained in Turkey.Brunson has been accused by the Turkish authorities of spying for the PKK (which has been designated as a terrorist group by both the U.S. and Turkey) and U.S.-based Fetullah Gülen and the latter’s Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), which orchestrated Turkey’s failed July 2016 coup attempt that left 251 martyrs in its wake.Ankara also accuses FETÖ of carrying out a long-running campaign to overthrow the Turkish state through the infiltration of state institutions.Iran FM slams US sanctions on Turkish gov’t ministers
US, Turkey agree to try to resolve disputes
"Turkey cannot be an item of U.S. domestic politics like it became in Europe. Repeating the faults that Europe did, will not earn America anything," Erdoğan said.
He said they could solve problems with the U.S. by prioritizing their alliance based on mutual interests and strategic partnership.
"The channels of diplomacy are working very intensely. I think that we will leave behind a major chunk of differences between us soon," he said, adding that they should sort out the issue rationally.
Erdoğan warned that if these political and judicial disputes affect the economic dimensions, they will be harmful for both countries.