Washington ratchets up sanctions threats against Turkey - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Bryant Harris

Jul 26, 2018

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Corker (R-TN) speaks to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Not Pictured) as ranking member Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) looks on during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing titled "An Update on American Diplomacy to Advance Our National Security Strategy" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 25, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron Bernstein - RC1E51F466C0 — Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., speaks to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Not Pictured) as ranking member Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., looks on during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing titled, "An Update on American Diplomacy to Advance Our National Security Strategy," on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 25, 2018. — REUTERS/Aaron Bernstein

President Donald Trump threatened to impose sanctions on Turkey today for its ongoing detention of a US citizen, bringing his administration in line with a monthslong congressional effort to punish the NATO ally.

Trump took to Twitter to threaten “large sanctions on Turkey for their longtime detention of Pastor Andrew Brunson,” adding, “This innocent man of faith should be released immediately!”

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New Congress targets Turkey

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US pastor Andrew Craig Brunson escorted by Turkish plain clothes police officers arrives at his house on July 25, 2018 in Izmir. - Turkey on July 15, 2018 moved from jail to house arrest US pastor Andrew Brunson who has spent almost two years imprisoned on terror-related charges, in a controversial case that has ratcheted up tensions with the United States. Andrew Brunson, who ran a protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, was first detained in October 2016 and had remained in prison in Turkey ever si

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