Turkey is ready to discuss its ongoing issues with the United States as long as there are no threats, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday, amid a widening dispute between the NATO allies that has sent the country's currency plunging.
Speaking to ambassadors in Ankara, Cavusoglu also said Turkey's relations with the European Union were on a firmer basis and normalizing once again.
He said he would meet with the European Commission's deputy head, Frans Timmermans, to speed up talks on visa liberalization for Turks, while Turkish and Russian working groups would hold talks on visa-free travel to Russia after the Muslim Eid holiday next week.
Meanwhile, in an effort to bolster the Turkish lira, Qatar on Wednesday pledged $15 billion in investment to Turkey.
The U.S. ruled out removing steel tariffs that have contributed to the currency crisis in Turkey, even if Ankara frees a U.S. pastor on trial in Turkey on terrorism charges.
The White House stance appeared to give Turkish authorities little incentive to work for the release of pastor Andrew Brunson, whose case Turkish officials have said is a matter for the courts.
The dispute is one of several between the NATO allies that have contributed to instability in Turkish financial markets, including diverging interests in Syria and U.S. objections to Turkey's ambition to buy Russian defense systems.
While the Brunson matter appeared far from being resolved, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan got a shot in the arm from Qatar's emir, who approved a package of economic projects, investments and deposits after the two met in Ankara.
The Qatari money will be channeled into banks and financial markets, a Turkish government source told Reuters.
The move by Turkey's Gulf ally offered further support to a lira rally after the Turkish central bank tightened liquidity and curbed selling of the currency.
The Turkish lira has lost nearly 40% against the U.S. dollar this year, driven by worries over Erdogan's growing control over the economy and his repeated calls for lower interest rates despite high inflation.
The dispute with the United States, focused on a tit-for-tat tariff row and Turkey's detention of Brunson, helped turn the currency's steady decline into meltdown.
It touched a record low of 7.24 to the dollar early on Monday, rattling global stock markets and threatening the stability of Turkey's financial sector.
U.S. President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Turkish metals exports to the United States last week prompting Turkey to raise tariffs on U.S. cars, alcohol and tobacco by the same amount on Wednesday. Tariffs were also doubled on goods such as cosmetics, rice and coal.
The White House called the Turkish response a step in the wrong direction and signaled a hard line on Brunson's release.
"Pastor Andrew Brunson is an innocent man held in Turkey and justice demands that he be released. Turkey would do well not to test POTUS Trump's resolve to see Americans who are wrongfully imprisoned in foreign lands returned home to the United States," Vice President Mike Pence tweeted.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders made clear the United States has no plan to remove the steel tariffs if Brunson is released, though she said it could remove sanctions imposed on two senior Turkish officials.
The United States sanctioned Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, blaming both for being involved in Brunson's arrest and detention. Brunson is accused of backing a 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan, which Brunson denies.
On Wednesday, a court in Izmir, where Brunson is on trial, rejected his appeal to be released from house arrest. An upper court had yet to rule on the appeal, his lawyer told Reuters.
There was also optimism about better relations with the European Union after a Turkish court released two Greek soldiers pending trial. Cavusoglu said ties with the bloc, long strained, were on a firmer basis and had started normalizing.
In another high-profile case, a Turkish court freed Taner Kilic, the local chairman of Amnesty International, a researcher from the rights group said.
