Washington and Ankara on Sunday suspended visa issuing services in each other's countries in a deepening diplomatic row sparked by the arrest of a Turkish employee at the U.S. consulate in İstanbul.
Communist Party of Turkey released a statement and stressed long-established close ties between imperialist countries and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). 'Erdoğan does not possess the credentials to fight the US,' said the TKP, slamming both the standpoints attributing some anti-imperialist features to Erdoğan and others anticipating 'democracy' from the Western imperialists.
Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül on Monday said he hoped the U.S. would review its decision to suspend most visa services for Turkish citizens. Speaking during a visit to Ukraine, Erdoğan called the U.S. decision a "saddening" development.
"Turkey is governed by the rule of law. Above all, we are not a tribe, we are not a tribal state," Erdoğan said.
Disagreements between Turkey and the United States will harm economic, social, cultural and academic relations between the two countries, as well as ordinary citizens, leading Turkish business association TÜSİAD said on Monday. "This crisis should be eased to foster mutual trust and constructive dialogue by not giving any room to hit the bilateral ties at the first place. Then, the disagreements need to be resolved in the fastest possible time," TÜSİAD said in a written statement.
A rift between the Turkish President Erdoğan and the western countries has broadened in the aftermath of last years failed coup attempt against Erdoğan, divergence over the war in Syria.
The U.S. consulates in Turkey indefinitely halted all non-immigrant visa services on Sunday, the American embassy said, after one of the mission's Turkish staffers was arrested. The American embassy in Ankara said that "recent events" forced the U.S. government to reassess Turkey's "commitment" to the security of US mission services and personnel in the country.
Turkish authorities late Wednesday have arrested a U.S. Consulate employee in İstanbul over his alleged links to a network led by U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen. Metin Topuz, a Turkish citizen, was arrested on charges of "espionage", "attempts to destroy the constitutional order", "seeking to overthrow the Turkish government".
Ankara responded by suspending all visa services at Turkish diplomatic facilities in the United States for Americans, saying the measures also apply to visas issued online and at the border. The Turkish embassy in Washington issued two statements that were almost word-for-word copies of that from the American embassy in Ankara.
Additionally, Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned on Monday the undersecretary of the U.S. embassy in the country over Washington’s decision to halt visa services in Turkey. According to the reports, the undersecretary was told the visa suspension move caused unnecessary escalation and should be reversed.
Meanwhile, Turkish authorities announced that a second employee of the U.S. consulate in İstanbul had been "invited" to the chief prosecutor's office to testify on Monday over his relatives' alleged links to the network of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, days after the arrest of another consulate worker. Turkish media reported that the individual wanted by prosecutors is currently taking sanctuary inside the İstanbul consulate of the United States.
