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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump's Deal to Free a Pastor in Turkey Falls Apart -- and He Makes Things Worse
Trump thought he'd sealed a deal to free Pastor Andrew Brunson. But no. So now he's threatening sanctions against a NATO allywhich is unlikely to do Brunson any good.
JULIA ARCIGA
07.30.18 12:41 PM ET
A very public diplomatic spat erupted last week between the U.S. and Turkey over the fate of American Pastor Andrew Brunsonwho has been jailed by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the last 21 months.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump, who famously fist-bumped Erdogan during the NATO summit last month, apparently thought he had a deal with the Turkish president. The Washington Post called it a carom shot that would free a Turkish woman held in Israel as a trade-off for the release of Brunson.
The woman, Ebru Ozkan, was deported from Israel on July 15. But the deal for Brunson fell apart. He was allowed to move from a Turkish prison to house arrest due to health concerns, yet remains captive. And after what appears to have been an acrimonious phone call between Trump and Erdogan on Thursday morning, as Trump had to recognize another of his deals with foreign leaders was falling apart, things started to get really ugly.
Link to tweet
Experts say that the aftermath of Trumps Twitter diplomacy threatening Erdogan with sanctions reduces the chance Brunson will be coming home any time soon, and makes a tense time in an already complex relationship even worse.
Bulent Aliriza, Director of the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says Erdogan has reacted badly to the tweets and suggests winning Brunsons freedom is now less likely than before. Aliriza also says the Erdogan government is obviously digging in their heels, leading to a very serious deterioration.
more
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-deal-to-free-a-pastor-in-turkey-falls-apart-and-he-makes-things-worse?ref=home
Girard442
(6,058 posts)As of right now, my gut feeling is he's just a pawn in a much larger game.
Brother Buzz
(36,212 posts)the failed 2016 coup d'état.
He was formally indicted in March on charges of espionage and having links to terrorist organizations. The charges against Brunson include supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party as well as the Gulen Movement, which Turkey says orchestrated the coup attempt.
C_U_L8R
(44,889 posts)We're being sold out, sold off and betrayed by these Trumpist traitors.
And Republicans are okay with that.