The United States has not received any official explanation from Turkish authorities regarding the reasons behind the arrest of a U.S. embassy staff member and also no valid evidence for the terrorism charges, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey John Bass said Wednesday.
"There has been no official communications from the Turkish government about the reasons why our local employees have been detained or arrested," Bass told reporters at his residence in Ankara.
Bass said the embassy hasn't received evidence supporting the allegations.
"In the absence of [this evidence], we are left to conclude that they are being held as the result of their work over many years on behalf of the U.S. government which involved a lot of interaction with Turkish law enforcement officials and other officials of the Turkish government," he said.
When asked about allegations that the second suspect was hiding in U.S. mission facilities, the diplomat refuted all speculations, adding that there had been no official request for any of U.S. local staff to appear for detention or interrogation.
The ambassador said he hopes the two countries can quickly resolve the row, claiming that cooperation between the two allies helped reduce terror attacks in Turkey. Bass said close security cooperation ensured that the Islamic State group was no longer able to carry the kind of attacks that plagued Turkey in 2015 and 2016.
The U.S. suspended most visa services for Turkish citizens after Turkish authorities arrested a Turkish employee at the American consulate in İstanbul on charges of espionage and alleged ties to the network of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, blamed for last year's failed coup. In response to the move, Turkish authorities suspended visa applications for US citizens.
ANKARA BOYCOTTS U.S. AMBASSADOR'S FAREWELL
No Turkish officials attended a farewell reception for outgoing U.S Ambassador to Turkey John Bass. On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Ankara did not see Bass as the US representative in Turkey.
Bass has been recently confirmed for his next post as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.
