Turkey urges US to reverse visa suspension

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Europe

Turkey urged the US embassy for a reversal of decision, calling for an end to the dispute between the two countries.

Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the undersecretary of the US Embassy in Ankara on Monday over the US decision to suspend visa services in the country, local Daily Sabah reported.

The US Embassy in Ankara announced late Sunday the US has suspended all non-immigrant visa services at its diplomatic facilities in Turkey.

Shortly after the US move, the Turkish Embassy in Washington announced Turkey has suspended all visa services at its diplomatic facilities in the US as a retaliatory response.

A woman waits in front of the visa application office entrance of the US embassy in Ankara, Turkey, October 9, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Turkish media reported on Monday that authorities had issued a detention warrant for a second US consulate worker. However, there is no immediately confirmation on the reports, which also said the employee’s wife and child were being questioned by police.

Relations between Ankara and Washington have long been plagued by disputes over US support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, Turkey’s calls for the extradition of a US-based cleric and the indictment of a Turkish former minister in a US court.

But last week’s arrest of a Turkish employee of the US consulate in Istanbul marked a fresh low.

Turkey said the employee had links to US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for a failed military coup in July 2016.

The US embassy in Ankara condemned those charges as baseless and announced on Sunday night it was halting all non-immigrant visa services in Turkey while it reassessed Turkey’s commitment to the security of its missions and staff. Within hours Turkey announced it was taking the same measures against US citizens.

Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency