Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan broke his silence about the US President Donald Trump’s sanction threats and claimed that Turkey never used jailed American Pastor Andrew Brunson as a bargaining chip, net-nationalist Sözcü daily reported on Sunday.
Erdoğan told reporters during his Africa tour that Turkey and the US have been negotiating various legal issues, including the extradition of US-based Turkish Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen, and the case of Mehmet Hakan Atilla, a Turkish banker sentenced to 32 months in prison in the US for his part as former deputy general manager of Turkish state-owned Halkbank in a complex scheme to evade US sanctions on Iran.
“We never used Brunson as a bargaining chip,” Erdoğan claimed. “Regarding the case of Brunson, considering his health problems, the judiciary in Turkey with good intentions decided to move him to house arrest. Instead of respecting the decision of the judiciary, they make this an issue for imposing sanctions on Turkey,” Erdoğan added, noting that Turkey would not step back as a result of sanction threats.
However, it was reminded that after Washington has called for Brunson’s release, Turkish President Erdoğan suggested last year the pastor’s fate could be linked to that of Fethullah Gülen, whose extradition Ankara has repeatedly sought to face charges over the controversial coup attempt.
Erdoğan referred to Washington in a speech to police officers last year in which he said: “Give us the pastor back,’ they say. You have one pastor as well. Give him [Gülen] to us. … Then we will try him [Brunson] and give him to you. The [pastor] we have is on trial. Yours is not — he is living in Pennsylvania. You can easily give him to us. You can hand him over right away.”
The idea of a swap was brushed off by Washington. US officials have said that Turkish government has failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify Gülen’s extradition, raising frustration in Erdoğan’s autocratic regime in Ankara.
Erdoğan also denied the allegations about a US-Turkey deal for the release of Brunson, in exchange for the release of Ebru Özkan, a Turkish woman imprisoned in Israel accused of ties to Hamas. According to Erdoğan, as Özkan was released in Israel but her passport was seized, the Turkish Foreign Ministry asked from the United States to help Özkan leave the country. “But we never said we will give Brunson in return,” Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan also talked about a bill restricting US loans to Turkey that was passed by the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations during its meeting on Thursday. “They are to block credit institutions loans to Turkey. Did we come to this points with those institutions,” Erdoğan said. The president warned that the United States would lose a “strong and sincere ally” if it does not change its attitude regarding the matter.
President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence announced on Thursday that the United States would impose sanctions on Turkey if Pastor Brunson’s detention continued. Despite the US authorities repeated calls for his release, Brunson was moved to house arrest on Wednesday, after nearly two years in prison facing charges of supporting both the Gülen movement and outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Meanwhile, Evangelical Christian leaders are urging Christians not to travel to Turkey, saying it’s unsafe for all if it isn’t safe for Brunson, the Christian Post reported on Saturday. An organisation called My Faith Votes on its Facebook page called 25 million evangelicals to boycott travel to Turkey and Turkish Airlines until Pastor Andrew Brunson is freed.
“We hope pastors nationwide will join us in urging their congregations to boycott Turkey. Now is the time to stand in solidarity with this American citizen who has been unjustly treated by the Turkish government,” the organisation said.
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu had two phone calls in the last two days to resolve the crisis between two countries around the case of Pastor Brunson. (SCF with Ahval)
The post Turkey never used Brunson as a bargaining chip, claims Turkish President Erdoğan appeared first on Stockholm Center for Freedom.
from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/turkey-never-used-brunson-as-a-bargaining-chip-claims-turkish-president-erdogan/
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