Iran press-Turkish president's spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin urged the United States to respect Turkey's judicial independence in a written statement to Reuters. The spokesperson noted that the US administration had made arbitrary comments and demands in Brunson’s case.
"There is rule of law in Turkey and the Andrew Brunson case is a legal issue. There is an ongoing legal process related to this individual," Kalin said. He stressed that Ankara finds "unacceptable the disregard of the legal process by the United States, which has been making certain demands Sputnik reported .
Erdogan's spokesman also remarked that the US administration most recent policies were at odds with the principles and values of NATO, saying that the recent US National Security Adviser John Bolton's comments meant that the US was targeting a NATO ally in an economic war.
Kalin’s comments came after Bolton told Reuters earlier that Turkey had made a "big mistake" in not releasing Brunson.
US President Donald Trump has stepped up pressure on Turkey, a NATO ally, since last month when a court in Turkey placed American pastor Andrew Brunson under house arrest after 21 months in prison.
Recently, the White House announced that it was imposing sanctions on Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. The sanctions involve freezing any property or assets on the US soil held by the two ministers. The sanctions also prevent American citizens from doing any business with the two ministers.
Meanwhile Erdogan had earlier asserted that Turkey does not “give credit for using such threatening language."
Brunson, who ran a small church in Turkey for more than 20 years, was arrested in December 2016 over allegations of having helped a group that Ankara says was behind a failed military coup in July 2016.
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