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US threatens more action against Turkey unless pastor freed | US threatens more action against Turkey unless pastor freed |
(35 minutes later) | |
The US has threatened to impose more economic sanctions on Turkey if it does not free a detained American pastor. | The US has threatened to impose more economic sanctions on Turkey if it does not free a detained American pastor. |
Andrew Brunson has been held in Turkey for nearly two years over alleged links to outlawed political groups. | |
The dispute over his release has seen the two Nato allies impose tariffs on one another's goods. | The dispute over his release has seen the two Nato allies impose tariffs on one another's goods. |
This has worsened a crisis for Turkey's currency, the lira, which has lost about a third of its value against the dollar since January. | This has worsened a crisis for Turkey's currency, the lira, which has lost about a third of its value against the dollar since January. |
The crisis has prompted widespread selling in other emerging markets, sparking fears of a global crisis. | |
What is the new threat from the US? | |
The lira has staged a small recovery but that is threatened by a fresh tweet from US President Donald Trump. | |
He said early on Friday that Turkey had "taken advantage of the United States for many years" and that he was "cutting back on Turkey". | |
On Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said: "We have more that we are planning to do if they don't release him [Mr Brunson] quickly." | |
Last week, the US doubled its tariffs on metal imports from Turkey. | |
Turkey vowed it would not succumb to threats. | |
A court refused to release Mr Brunson, and the the government in Ankara increased tariffs on imports from the US of cars, alcoholic drinks and leaf tobacco - and the lira recovered slightly. | |
Why this tension between Nato allies? | |
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the US of trying to "bring Turkey to its knees". | |
Ankara accuses Mr Brunson - who operates a tiny evangelical church in Izmir - of having links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party and the Gulenist movement, which Turkey blames for a failed coup two years ago. | |
Mr Brunson has denied charges of espionage, but faces up to 35 years in jail if found guilty. | |
The US insists the pastor, a long-time Turkish resident, is "a victim of unfair and unjust detention". | |
Mr Trump described him as "our wonderful Christian Pastor, who I must now ask to represent our Country as a great patriot hostage". | |
The influential Protestant evangelical church in the US is a major support base for Mr Trump. | The influential Protestant evangelical church in the US is a major support base for Mr Trump. |
Mr Erdogan is angry that the US has not taken more action against the Gulenist movement and what he said was a failure "to unequivocally condemn" the 2016 coup attempt. The US has refused to extradite Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania. | |
US support for Kurdish rebel groups fighting Islamic State fighters in northern Syria is another major difficulty, given Turkey's battle against a Kurdish insurgency in its own country. | |
Mr Erdogan wrote in the New York Times earlier that unless the US changed course, Turkey would look for new friends and allies. | |
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, visited Ankara on Tuesday, branding the US sanctions an illegitimate policy. | |
It's an awkward triangle, given that Turkey is a Nato member, Russia is Nato's number one threat and the organisation is obliged to defend any member that is attacked. | |
Could the lira crisis spread? | |
President Erdogan has urged Turks to shore up the currency by not trading in dollars and euros. | |
On Monday, the central bank said it would provide all the liquidity Turkish banks needed, as it seeks to keep money flowing in the financial system. | |
There are signs that the weakness in Turkish currency markets is already spreading. | There are signs that the weakness in Turkish currency markets is already spreading. |
South Africa's rand, Russia's rouble, the Indian rupee and Indonesia's rupiah have all taken a hit from the crisis in Turkey. | South Africa's rand, Russia's rouble, the Indian rupee and Indonesia's rupiah have all taken a hit from the crisis in Turkey. |