Ankara asks US to lift ‘upsetting’ visa suspension
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkish officials have asked the US to end its visa suspension the same day a summons was issued for another US consulate staff member.
On Sunday evening, the US embassy in Ankara announced it was suspending non-immigrant visa services, citing concerns about the security of its personnel.
Turkey quickly responded with a near identical statement suspending its visa services in the US.
On Monday morning, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry summoned the deputy chief of mission of the US embassy in Ankara and asked for “immediate relief” to what they described as unjust treatment of Turkish citizens, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
State-run Anadolu Agency reported the Turks asked the Americans to reverse their decision in order to prevent “unnecessary escalation” of tensions.
Speaking in a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the embassy’s decision was “upsetting.”
The visa suspension came after Turkey arrested a Turkish national, Metin Topuz, who was employed at the American consulate in Istanbul. Topuz was detained on terrorism charges for alleged connections with the Gulen Movement, which Ankara blames for orchestrating last summer’s failed coup.
On Monday, Turkish authorities issued a summons for another employee of the US Istanbul consulate. The person in question, identified only by his initials N.M.C, does not hold diplomatic immunity, according to the office of the chief public prosecutor in Istanbul. He has been summoned to testify as a suspect. His wife and child have been detained in Amasya.
On Sunday evening, the US embassy in Ankara announced it was suspending non-immigrant visa services, citing concerns about the security of its personnel.
Turkey quickly responded with a near identical statement suspending its visa services in the US.
On Monday morning, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry summoned the deputy chief of mission of the US embassy in Ankara and asked for “immediate relief” to what they described as unjust treatment of Turkish citizens, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
State-run Anadolu Agency reported the Turks asked the Americans to reverse their decision in order to prevent “unnecessary escalation” of tensions.
Speaking in a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the embassy’s decision was “upsetting.”
The visa suspension came after Turkey arrested a Turkish national, Metin Topuz, who was employed at the American consulate in Istanbul. Topuz was detained on terrorism charges for alleged connections with the Gulen Movement, which Ankara blames for orchestrating last summer’s failed coup.
On Monday, Turkish authorities issued a summons for another employee of the US Istanbul consulate. The person in question, identified only by his initials N.M.C, does not hold diplomatic immunity, according to the office of the chief public prosecutor in Istanbul. He has been summoned to testify as a suspect. His wife and child have been detained in Amasya.