Turkey calls US threatening language ‘unacceptable’

By Sarp Ozer

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s national security establishment on Monday blasted recent U.S. threatening language towards Turkey as out of bounds and disrespectful.

In a statement, the National Security Council said that the threatening language that the U.S. used towards Turkey shows disrespect for relations between two countries and is “unacceptable.”

The statement came after the National Security Council convened under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the first time it has done so since last month, when Turkey’s presidential system came into effect.

Relations between the countries soured after the U.S. threatened to impose sanctions on Turkey over detained American pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, who was arrested in the Aegean province of Izmir in December 2016.

Brunson was charged with committing crimes, including spying for the PKK -- listed as a terrorist group by both the U.S. and Turkey -- and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the defeated coup attempt of July 2016.

Turkish prosecutors are seeking 15 years in prison for Brunson for committing crimes on behalf of terrorist groups without being a member, with up to 20 years for political or military espionage.