Andrew Brunson

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency announced Tuesday that the country will host the 2021 Interpol General Assembly, a victory for a nation Voice of America called the “most prolific abuser” of Interpol’s Red Notice system.

“All children born and unborn are made in the holy image of God,” he said. “Every life is sacred, and every soul is a precious gift from Heaven.”

Evangelical leaders continue to be thrilled with President Donald Trump’s performance after he secured the release of pastor Andrew Brunson this weekend.

Newly-freed Pastor Andrew Brunson joins President Donald Trump at the White House on Saturday after two years of detention in Turkey.

“PASTOR BRUNSON JUST RELEASED,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “WILL BE HOME SOON!”

A Turkish court on Friday ruled in favor of releasing American Pastor Andrew Brunson nearly two years after Turkish authorities arrested him on charges of terrorism.

American pastor Andrew Brunson marked his second year imprisoned in Turkey on Sunday. Ankara accuses him of terrorism in connection to the failed coup in 2016, an allegation that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration refutes.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly said this week that a Turkish court, not politicians, would decide whether to release U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson, held since 2016 on charges of terrorism through “Christianization.”

U.S. NATO ally Turkey’s indictment against American pastor Andrew Brunson deems “Christianization” as his terrorism-related crime, the preacher’s daughter declared during a religious liberty panel discussion at the 2018 Values Voter Summit on Friday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan proposed at a summit in Kyrgyzstan on Monday that Middle East and Central Asian countries should stop trading in the U.S. dollar and instead use their domestic currencies.

President Donald Trump told Bloomberg reporters Thursday that he was “very disappointed” in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for not yet releasing American pastor Andrew Brunson from his prolonged imprisonment on false charges.

Turkey claims that Donald Trump stabbed them in the back with sanctions, tariffs, and tough talk following the illegitimate arrest of an American pastor. He didn’t. He counter-punched them, and they deserved it.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu penned an opinion piece published by USA Today on Monday urging the Trump administration to lift sanctions on his country, insisting that Turkey deserves friendlier treatment from Washington because it pays more into NATO than other allies and hosts an American airbase.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a message observing the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha on Monday, condemning “an attack on our economy” and appearing to reference U.S. sanctions on Ankara, without naming Washington.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s administration has rejected Turkey’s offer to condition the release of an American pastor on clearing a top Turkish bank of billions of dollars in US fines, media reported Monday.

The safest way to save Andrew Brunson’s life is not to bow to Erdogan’s demands, but to make the cost of taking Brunson’s life too great for even Erdogan to bear.

Turks supporting Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have uploaded videos on social media this week destroying their iPhones and other American products with sledgehammers, handguns, and fire.

“Turkey has been a problem for a long time,” President Trump said to reporters as he left the White House. “They have not acted as a friend.”

ANKARA, Turkey — The Turkish lira continued to rebound from record losses on Thursday a day after Qatar pledged $15 billion in investments to help Turkey’s economy.

U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback said this week that the Trump administration would continue to put pressure on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan through sanctions and other means until American citizen and pastor Andrew Brunson is released from house arrest and returned to the United States.

Turkish Presidency Communications Director Fahrettin Altun on Thursday called U.S. sanctions on the nation for its continued arrest of American pastor Andrew Brunson an “economic coup attempt” against the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a decree Wednesday imposing new tariffs on American rice, alcohol, and other products, revealed shortly after a Turkish court in Izmir once again rejected a request to release American pastor Andrew Brunson.

A fresh appeal to free U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson, whose continued detention has sparked a diplomatic spat between Turkey and the United States, was rejected Wednesday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has responded to the diplomatic spat engulfing Turkey-U.S. relations by pledging a national  boycott of U.S.-made electronic goods.

The U.S. Embassy in Ankara has denied reports that American pastor Andrew Brunson will be released from house arrest and allowed to return back to the United States.

“Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with his Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, on Friday and left the meeting agreeing to “resolve” the unspecified “issues” between them, paramount among them the sanctions Washington imposed on Ankara this week.

Turkey’s currency, the lira, plunged to a record low on Wednesday and continued to fall Thursday following the imposition of sanctions by the United States on two Turkish officials for their roles in the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.

Turkish ruling and minority party politicians responded with outrage Thursday to the U.S. Treasury’s decision to sanction the nation’s Justice and Interior ministers in response to the continued detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Turkey’s Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul and Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu on Wednesday over their leading roles in the arrest and detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert reiterated to reporters during a regular briefing Tuesday that, as Vice President Mike Pence had noted a week ago, Turkey faces “the very real risk of sanctions” if it does not free American pastor Andrew Brunson, arrested on dubious charges of aiding Marxist and Islamist terrorist groups.

A Turkish court on Tuesday ruled against American pastor Andrew Brunson’s appeal to be released from house arrest.

Israel on Friday confirmed U.S. media reports that President Donald Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a July 14 phone call to release Ebru Özkan, a Turkish woman accused of Hamas ties, in exchange for Turkey’s release of imprisoned American Pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been detained on terror and espionage charge. Turkey had denied these reports.

Two members of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said on Wednesday that the news that Turkish authorities have placed American pastor Andrew Brunson in house arrest is a good sign that his almost two-year detention from alleged terrorism charges could be coming to a close.

Turkish authorities announced on Wednesday that American Pastor Andrew Brunson, detained in 2016 for alleged ties to Islamist and Marxist terrorist groups, has been moved to house arrest to address health concerns.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. is working to secure the freedom of Pastor Andrew Brunson, who remains in a Turkish jail.