Turkey ready to respond if US imposes more sanctions

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Europe

01:50

Turkey on Friday threatened to respond in kind if Washington imposed further sanctions over the detention of an American pastor which has sparked a diplomatic standoff and battered the Turkish currency.

The Third Penal Court in Izmir rejected an appeal to release American Christian pastor Andrew Brunson from house arrest during his trial, local media said on Friday.

Brunson's lawyer Ismail Cem Halavurt on Tuesday filed an appeal for the second time to the Second Penal Court in Izmir to lift his client's house arrest and travel ban.

The court rejected the lawyer's petition and sent it to the Third Penal Court on Wednesday.

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The case of the 50-year-old pastor, who is standing trial in Turkey over terrorism charges, now lies at the heart of a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and the US.

Last week, US President Donald Trump said he had doubled the tariffs on aluminum and steel from Turkey, prompting Ankara to sharply hike tariffs on several US products.

On Friday, Turkey's Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said to expect more of the same.

"We've already responded based on the World Trade Organization rules and will continue to do so," state-run Anadolu news agency quoted him as saying.

People exchange money at a currency exchange office in Istanbul, August 8, 2018. /VCG Photo

US sanctions and the declining lira created panic in the markets but on the streets, many Turks appeared to support the government's retaliatory measures.

Muharrem Bozkurt sounded upbeat despite the lira crisis. "As we are a country where patriotic sentiments are high, no matter how much the dollar increases, we will get over this," he told AFP.

"American sanctions will have no effect on us as long as we remain united," said another man, Ibrahim Aktar.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency