Is Erdogan doing U-turn on jailed US pastor?
Andrew Brunson’s continued detention in Turkey risks deepening the breach with the US, with unforeseen consequences for Western security amid continued conflict in Syria and rising tensions with Iran.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintained that a Turkish court and not its politicians would decide on the fate of US pastor Andrew Brunson, whose detention on outlandish terror charges has pushed relations between Ankara and Washington to the brink.
In an interview with Reuters late Tuesday in New York, Erdogan said, “This is a judiciary matter. Brunson has been detained on terrorism charges. … On Oct. 12 there will be another hearing and we don’t know what the court will decide and the politicians will have no say on the verdict.” Erdogan had earlier suggested that Brunson could be swapped for Fethullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania-based cleric who is accused of masterminding the failed July 2016 coup.
