The US and Turkey have agreed to resume full visa services that were halted over the arrest of staff at US consulates. Despite the announcement, both sides appeared to disagree on what they agreed on.
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The United States and Turkey have resumed offering full visa services, the embassies in Ankara and Washington said on Thursday.
The United States halted full visa services to Turkish nationals in October following the arrest of Metin Topuz, the second local employee at a US consulate to be detained this year. Turkey responded with a tit-for-tat move halting visa services to US citizens.
The diplomatic spat has added to already strained ties between the Washington and Ankara. The NATO allies are at odds over US support for Kurdish forces in Syria and a massive crackdown in Turkey in the wake of the July 2016 failed coup attempt that authorities there blame on US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.
NATO partners adrift: USA and Turkey
Turkish-US relations have soured despite President Donald Trump's hosting of his "friend" President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington in May. DW traces what led to the allies having their worst spat in five decades.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photo/E. Tazegul
Jovial gestures belie multiple disputes
May 16, 2017: Trump welcomes Erdogan to Washington, saying both presidents have a "great relationship" and would make it "even better." Erdogan congratulates Trump on his "legendary" 2016 election win but complains bitterly about US arming of the Kurdish YPG militia, claiming that its inclusion in the US-led campaign against IS in in war-torn Syria provides a cover for Kurdish separatism.
Image: Reuters/K.Lamarque
Melee becomes further irritant
May 17: As Erdogan ends his visit, Voice of America video footage emerges showing his guards assaulting Kurdish protesters outside the Turkish ambassador's residence in Washington. A month later, US authorities issue arrest warrants for 12 members of Erdogan's security detail, who had long returned to Turkey. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the assaults breached "legitimate" free speech.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/Voice of America
First anniversary of coup attempt
July 15, 2017: Turkey marks the first anniversary of the failed coup attempt. In a post-coup bid crackdown 50,000 people were arrested, accused of links to the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, an Erdogan ally-turned-rival. Tens of thousands more face job suspensions. The refusal of the US to extradite Gulen has been a major sore spot in relations.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/M. Cetinmuhurdar
Turkey 'uneasy' about US arming of Kurdish militia
August 23: US Defense Secretary James Mattis visits Ankara as the Pentagon stresses US commitment to bilateral relations and "honest dialogue." Mattis had just visited Iraq to assess the anti-IS campaign. Erdogan tells Turkish media that Turkey will thwart any attempt by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) to establish a "terror corridor" in northern Syria through to the Mediterranean.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/K. Ozer
Turkey arrests US consulate employee
October 5: Turkish authorities arrest Metin Topuz, a Turkish national employed at the US consulate in Istanbul. He is formally charged with espionage and collaboration in the 2016 coup attempt. The US embassy in Ankara subsequently says it is "deeply disturbed" by the arrest. It's reportedly the second since March, when a Turkish US consulate employee was arrested in Adana.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/N. Elden
US and Turkey suspend their respective visa services
October 8-9: The United States suspends its issuance of non-immigrant visa applications to Turkish nationals, saying it has to "reassess" Turkish readiness to respect security at US diplomatic missions. Turkey suspends its visa services for US nationals and summons another staffer at the US consulate in Istanbul.
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Attempts to make amends
November 6: The US Embassy in Ankara announces that it is reinstating its visa program for Turkish tourists on a "limited" basis after receiving assurances from the government that no employees will be detained "for carrying out official duties." Shortly thereafter, Turkey confirms that it is also resuming visa services for US citizens one day before Prime Minister Yildirim visits Washington.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/B. Ozbilici
At odds over Russian missiles
December through August, 2018: In December, Turkey announced it would buy the Russian S-400 missile system, which is incompatable with NATO systems. The US Congress has included a provision in a defense bill that would cut Turkey out of the F-35 fighter jet program if it moves forward with the S-400 deal.
Image: Getty Images/S. Barbour
Release the pastor ... or else
August 1, 2018: The US sanctions Turkey's interior and justice ministers over the continued detention of pastor Andrew Brunson. Brunson had been moved from prison to house arrest in late July, but that fell short of US demands for his immediate release and end to terror and espionage charges. Brunson was arrested almost two years ago.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photo/E. Tazegul
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The US Embassy in Ankara said in a statement it was "confident that the security posture has improved" after receiving assurances from Turkish officials.
The Turkish government has kept "high-level assurances" that no additional local staff at the US mission are under investigation or will be arrested for conducting official duties, the US Embassy said. In November, those assurances prompted the US and Turkey to resume limited visa services.
Turkish authorities also committed to inform the US government in advance if the local staff is going to be detained or arrested in the future, the US Embassy said.
But in a sign Ankara and Washington are still in disagreement, the Turkish Embassy said in a statement that no assurances had been given.
"Regarding the US statement about assurances, we want to emphasize that Turkey is governed by the rule of law, that our government didn't give any assurances related to ongoing legal proceedings and no one working for diplomatic missions in our country faces criminal proceedings related to official work," the Turkish Embassy said.
"We do not find it right that the United States makes claims about assurances and misinforms the Turkish and American public," it said.
The Turkish embassy also said it was worried about its nationals detained in the United States.
The US Embassy said it was still concerned about American citizens arrested in Turkey as well as both Turkish national employees, who remain in detention.
Howard Eissenstat, a Turkey expert at St. Lawrence University, pointed out that the US State Department refrained from demanding its consular staff to be released or evidence provided against them.
"Whatever the wisdom of the original slowdown in consular services, this is an embarrassing retreat," he wrote on Twitter.
Topuz stands accused of having ties with the Gulen movement, which Ankara blames for the July 2016 failed coup attempt.
He worked with the US Drug Enforcement Agency and in that capacity would have had official contacts with Turkish security services. Turkish authorities accuse him of making contact with figures involved in the coup attempt.
Hamza Ulucay is a Turkish translator at the US consulate in Adana for 36 years.
He has been charged with being a "member of a terrorist organization."
Ironically, he is accused of being a member of the Gulen movement and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), two ideological rival groups.
Among the evidence prosecutors have brought against Ulucay are 21 $1 bills found in his home.
According to the Turkish government, coup participants carried $1 bills to show that they were part of the plot.
