Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that it is the Turkish judiciary, not the politicians, who will decide the fate of an American priest jailed in Turkey for terrorism charges in a case that disturbs relations between Ankara and Washington.
"As president, I do not have the right to order his release," Erdogan said.
He said in an interview Tuesday while in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, Erdogan said any decision on the imprisoned priest Andrew Brunson would be issued by the court.
"This is a judicial matter, Brunson has been detained on terrorism charges, another hearing will be held on October 12, we do not know what the court will decide, and the politicians will have no opinion on the verdict."
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday he was optimistic Turkey would release the jailed priest this month.
Bronson was placed under house arrest in July after being held for 21 months.
The priest may be imprisoned for up to 35 years if convicted by the court. Brunson denies the charges against him.
| US priest (left) denies charges against him (European) |
Wrath and repercussions
Outraged by the arrest of Brunson, US President Donald Trump issued a decision in August to double the duties on aluminum and steel imported from Turkey. Ankara responded by increasing tariffs on US car, alcohol and tobacco imports.
The Turkish lira has lost about 40 percent of its value against the dollar this year on fears of Erdogan tightening his grip on the country's monetary policy, as well as over the diplomatic row between Ankara and Washington.
"The Brunson case has nothing to do with Turkey's economy, the current economic challenges are overstated, Turkey will overcome these challenges with its own resources," Erdogan said.
The fate of Idlib
On the issue of Syria, the Turkish president said that peace can not be achieved there as President Bashar al-Assad is in power, announcing the start of withdrawal from what he described as extremist groups from the demilitarized zone in Idlib province in northern Syria.
He pointed out that Turkey and Russia had classified the weapons, which will be considered heavy weapons, and began armed groups to withdraw from the region, indicating that this was a requirement of the local population, and returned between fifty and sixty thousand people to Idlib.
Erdogan said that Assad's regime continues until now with the bombing of the Syrian people, and if the summits were not held, this situation would have continued so far.
Yesterday, Erdogan said in his speech to the UN General Assembly that Ankara had prevented a bloody attack on Idlib in Syria.
| Turkey and Russia reached an agreement on September 17 on Idleb , |
Agreement and understanding
The Turkish president said that the agreement signed in Sochi on September 17 prevented a bloody attack on the Syrian province of Idlib and avoided the fate of Aleppo, Deraa and the eastern Ghouta.
On December 17, Turkey and Russia reached an agreement to establish a demilitarized zone of 15 to 20 kilometers in Idlib and the withdrawal of opposition fighters from the area by October 15, with Turkish and Russian troops patrolling the area.
The deal is the fruit of Turkish efforts to prevent the Syrian regime and its supporters from carrying out a military offensive against Idlib, the last opposition stronghold, where some 4 million civilians, including hundreds of thousands of displaced people, live.