A woman waits in front of the visa application office entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, October 9, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Reuters: Turkey urges U.S. to review visa suspension as lira, stocks tumble
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey urged the United States on Monday to review its suspension of visa services after the arrest of a U.S. consulate employee sharply escalated tension between the two NATO allies and drove Turkey’s currency and stocks lower.
Relations between Ankara and Washington have been plagued by disputes over U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, Turkey’s calls for the extradition of a U.S.-based cleric and the indictment of a
Turkish former minister in a U.S. court.
But last week’s arrest of a Turkish employee of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul marked a fresh low. Turkey said the employee had links to U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for a failed military coup in July 2016.
The U.S. 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.
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WNU Editor: Hundreds of thousands of Turks use this visa service annually .... including many members of the government, business community, and ex-pats who live in the U.S.. This suspension hurts .... and I am not surprised that the Turkish government is reacting as quickly as they are. I am even willing to bet that right now there are many in the Turkish government who are telling President Erdogan and his senior aides to back-off.
But last week’s arrest of a Turkish employee of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul marked a fresh low. Turkey said the employee had links to U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for a failed military coup in July 2016.
The U.S. 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.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Hundreds of thousands of Turks use this visa service annually .... including many members of the government, business community, and ex-pats who live in the U.S.. This suspension hurts .... and I am not surprised that the Turkish government is reacting as quickly as they are. I am even willing to bet that right now there are many in the Turkish government who are telling President Erdogan and his senior aides to back-off.