{"id":55641,"date":"2017-12-29T04:39:04","date_gmt":"2017-12-29T04:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=55641"},"modified":"2017-12-29T04:39:04","modified_gmt":"2017-12-29T04:39:04","slug":"u-s-and-turkey-visa-crisis-ends-after-three-month-standoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/u-s-and-turkey-visa-crisis-ends-after-three-month-standoff.html","title":{"rendered":"U.S. and Turkey visa crisis ends after three-month standoff"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. and Turkey visa crisis ends after three-month standoff<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

U.S. and Turkey visa crisis ends after three-month standoff: The United States and Turkey announced Thursday an end to visa restrictions that have affected thousands of travelers, but tensions continued to fester as Turkish officials disputed a U.S. account of how the crisis was resolved.<\/span><\/p>\n

The U.S. Embassy in Ankara posted a notice on its website saying full visa service was resuming because the Turkish government had provided \u201cassurances\u201d that its local employees would not be arrested for actions related to their jobs. It also said Turkey promised to alert the embassy if any other Turkish employees face arrest.<\/span><\/p>\n

A few hours later, the Turkish Embassy in Washington posted its own explanation, saying it, too, was restoring visas in a gesture of reciprocity. But it insisted it gave no such guarantees.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is inappropriate to misinform the Turkish and American public that such assurances were provided,\u201d it said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The visa crisis began in October when U.S. missions in Turkey stopped issuing most visas after a Turkish employee of the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul was detained for alleged links to Fethullah Gulen, a Pennsylvania-based cleric whom Ankara blames for a coup attempt in 2016. Turkey retaliated in kind.<\/span><\/p>\n

The impact was immediate. In September, the United States issued more than 7,200 nonimmigrant visas in Istanbul and Ankara. In November, when limited visa service was restored, barely 1,800 visas were issued.<\/span><\/p>\n

The end of the visa standoff caps a turbulent year in U.S.-Turkish relations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Turkey wants Gulen extradited, but U.S. courts have refused to do so. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is angry that Washington has armed Kurdish fighters in Syria.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. officials, for their part, have complained frequently about human rights violations in Turkey since the attempted coup. Turkey remains in a state of emergency.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another thorn in the relationship was a clash between protesters and Erdogan\u2019s bodyguards outside the ambassador\u2019s residence in Washington. Police later charged a dozen Turkish security guards with assault.<\/span><\/p>\n

Against the deteriorating relationship, the argument over the visas took on political overtones, even as the State Department said it was purely about the safety of its employees.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was precipitated by the detention of a Turkish employee, the second detained this year, and suggestions that others might be in the crosshairs. An embassy statement said it needed to \u201creassess\u201d Turkey\u2019s commitment to protecting its employees.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. officials feared that the post-coup-attempt crackdown meant their Turkish employees could be jailed for innocuous actions such as calling the police to check on visa applicants.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Turkish official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomacy, stressed that Turkey had not arrested any embassy staffers \u201cbecause of their regular work.\u201d The official said the two consulate employees were taken into custody \u201cbecause we believed that they had direct links with the FETO terrorist organization,\u201d an acronym for the Gulen movement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both sides, the official said, committed to informing the other of any intention to detain consular employees.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think both the U.S. and [Turkey] recognized that the status quo was not sustainable,\u201d the official said.<\/span><\/p>\n

A State Department statement cited \u201chigh-level assurances\u201d that no more employees are under investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBased on adherence to these assurances, the Department of State is confident that the security posture has improved sufficiently to allow for the full resumption of visa services in Turkey,\u201d it said.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the statement expressed serious concerns about the detained employees as well as the fate of U.S. citizens arrested since the attempted coup.<\/span><\/p>\n

Turkey, in a tit-for-tat gesture, said it was concerned about the \u201congoing cases against Turkish citizens in the United States,\u201d an apparent reference to the outstanding warrants for Erdogan\u2019s bodyguards.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/national-security\/us-and-turkey-visa-crisis-ends-after-three-month-standoff\/2017\/12\/28\/2643d8a6-ebec-11e7-8a6a-80acf0774e64_story.html?utm_term=.83b925c070b1<\/span><\/p>\n

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