United States and Turkey partially suspend visa services

Turkey announced on Sunday that it would stop issuing visas to Americans, except for immigration visas, after a similar decision by Washington.

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Currency and the stock market fell in Istanbul on Monday (October 9th) after the announcement by the United States and Turkey of a reciprocal suspension of visa issuances, a new showdown that further degrades the relationship between the two allies of NATO.

The crisis began on Sunday (October 8th), when the United States announced it would suspend the issuance of visas by their diplomatic missions in Turkey, except for immigration visas. The move was taken to protest Metin Topuz, a Turkish employee of the US consulate in Istanbul, charged by the Turkish court on Wednesday (October 4th) for "espionage" and belonging to the "terrorist" movement of Fethullah Gülen, a imam exiled in the United States described by the Turkish authorities as the brain of the coup attempt of 15 July 2016.

An accusation "unfounded", according to the United States, an initiative that looks more like "the pursuit of a vengeance rather than a quest for justice," deplored John Bass, the American ambassador to Turkey.

In response to US restrictions, Turkey in turn suspended the issuance of visas for US citizens, which helped inflame the local market. On Monday morning, the Turkish lira lost 2.5% against the dollar and almost 7% against the euro, while the stock market fell by 4%. Turkish Airlines, the national airline, was not spared the turmoil, losing 8% at the opening of the stock exchange.

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"The pillar of global and regional stability"

Turkey's main employers' organization, the Tüsiad, said on Monday that the visa crisis could only harm "economic, social and cultural" relations between the two countries. "The bilateral relationship is important, it is the pillar of global and regional stability, in accordance with NATO membership," said the Turkish bosses in a statement released on Monday.

Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül defended on Monday the arrest of Metin Topuz, the consulate employee. "We have the right to try a Turkish national for a crime committed in Turkey. I hope that the United States will reconsider its decision in light of this fact, "he said on Monday. He said he was unaware of the existence of a second arrest warrant for another US consulate employee, spoken Monday by CNN Türk. Gül said he hoped the United States would reconsider its decision.

On Monday morning, the Turkish foreign ministry convened Philip Kosnett, number two in the US Embassy in Ankara, demanding the lifting of restrictions that were perceived as "unfair" to Turkish nationals and that Ankara serve as a prelude to "unnecessary escalation" between the two countries.

The arrest follows a Turkish employee of the US consulate in Adana (southern Turkey) who is accused of supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK, banned in Turkey) in March. Adana is home to the Incirlik air base, where dozens of US nuclear missiles are stored and from which take off the coalition planes that bomb the jihadists of the Islamic state organization in Turkey.

"Exchanges" of prisoners

This visa war comes amid a continuing disagreement between Ankara and Washington since the failed coup that almost wavered the power of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. While the failed putsch is abundantly described by the pro-government Turkish press as having been fomented by Washington, the Turkish government is ulcerated by the failure to consider its request for the extradition of Imam Gülen.

Over the past few months, Mr. Erdogan has shone in his speeches the prospect of an "exchange" of prisoners between Washington and Ankara, referring to the case of the American Protestant pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been imprisoned for ten months in Turkey for alleged collusion with "terrorists".

The "Exchange of Prisoners" was enacted by Decree of the State of Emergency No. 694, published on 25 August in the Gazette, which authorizes the extradition of foreign citizens and their "exchange" and approved by the President.

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