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Pompeo hopeful on case of detained US pastor in Turkey
SINGAPORE, Aug 4, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said
Saturday he was hopeful there would be progress towards freeing an American
pastor whose detention in Turkey has sparked a diplomatic crisis.
His upbeat tone came despite talks on Friday with his Turkish counterpart
Mevlut Cavusoglu having failed to end the standoff surrounding Pastor Andrew
Brunson, with Ankara warning that sanctions imposed by Washington would not
work.
Brunson, who led a Protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, is at
the centre of one of the most serious crises in relations between the NATO
allies in years.
The pastor was moved to house arrest last week after nearly two years in
jail on terror-related charges, but the change only increased tensions.
The US responded to the failure to fully free Brunson by hitting two top
Turkish ministers with sanctions, prompting Ankara to threaten reciprocal
measures.
At a press conference Saturday, Pompeo insisted he had a “constructive
conversation” with Cavusoglu on Friday on the sidelines of a regional
security meeting in Singapore.
“I made it clear that it is well past time that Pastor Brunson should be
freed and be permitted to return to the United States, and the others being
held by Turkey also similarly must be freed as well,” he said.
“I’m very hopeful that we will make progress on that in the days and weeks
ahead,” he added.
However Cavusoglu struck a less positive tone after his meeting with
Pompeo, also calling the talks constructive but warning that threats and
sanctions would not work.
Apart from Brunson, two Turkish employees of US consulates in Turkey are
also currently in jail on terror charges and another is under house arrest,
while several Americans have been caught up in the crackdown that followed a
failed 2016 coup.
The standoff appears to be one of the most serious fallouts between the
two NATO allies in modern history, along with the rows over the 1974 Turkish
invasion of Cyprus and the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
Pompeo insisted Saturday Washington would continue to work with Ankara
despite the row. Turkey “is a NATO partner with whom the United States has
every intention of continuing to work cooperatively”, he said.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1100 hrs