- USA warned Turkey to expect more economic sanctions unless it hands over detained American pastor Andrew Brunson, as relations between the two countries took a further turn for the worse.
- President Donald Drumpf on a tweet few hours ago (4:30 PM – 16 Aug 2018) said that the U.S. “will pay nothing for the release of” detained American pastor Andrew Brunson to Turkey, who he called “a great patriot hostage.”
At the aforementioned tweet by the U.S President, he condemned the Turkish government for taking “advantage” of the U.S. for many years, and added that while the administration would not pay for Pastor Andrew Brunson’s release, the U.S. is “cutting back on Turkey.”
Steven Mnuchin , U.S. Treasury Secretary assured the U.S President at a Cabinet meeting that sanctions were ready to be put in place if Brunson was not freed.
“We have more that we are planning to do if they don’t release him quickly,” Mnuchin said during the meeting.
