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Following the United States’ decision to suspend visa services for Turkish travelers entering the U.S., Turkey reciprocated with a similar measure while calling for an end to the standoff since it was causing “unnecessary tensions."
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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held a meeting with a U.S. diplomat in an effort to de-escalate the situation.
The United States' move came after the Turkish government accused a U.S. consulate employee of having ties to Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric which Turkey accused of being behind the attempted 2016 coup against President Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkish media also reported that an arrest warrant was issued for a second employee and the employee’s family had been questioned by police.
The United States has said that the charges against its employees are baseless and provocative, adding that it is reexamining Turkey’s commitment to the security of its diplomatic mission staff, as Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul said that Turkey would take steps to address any security concerns the U.S. may have.
Investors quickly responded to the diplomatic standoff as the Turkish lira dropped 2.4 percent overnight. The BIST 100 stock fell by some 4.7 percent and travel industries, including the Turkish airlines, reported stock prices falling a grueling 8 percent.
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This standoff falls in the wake of years of building tension between the U.S. and Turkey, two allies bound by NATO. Turkey had been the keystone of U.S. foreign policy in Syria until U.S. policy abruptly shifted, diverting resources to supporting Kurdish militias.
Turkey has also pressured the U.S. to extradite Fethullah Gulen for his alleged role in the 2016 attempted coup while the U.S. has not responded to the request. Last month, a U.S. court indicted Turkey’s former Economic Minister Zafer Caglayan for violating the U.S. sanctions against Iran.
Analyst and former Turkish diplomat Sinan Ulgen told Reuters that the standoff is a “crisis of confidence” and should be viewed within the years-long context that has led to shaky relations between the two NATO allies.
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