Turkish President Erdogan Blames U.S. Ambassador for Visa Row
10, 2017
ISTANBUL — Turkish officials assailed the United States on Tuesday for its decision to suspend visas for Turkish citizens, defending their right to detain American Embassy employees they accused of spying
and blaming the American ambassador for the diplomatic dispute.
The State Department defended Mr. Bass on Tuesday,
and said the decision to suspend visa services in Turkey had been cleared at the highest levels of the United States government, including the State Department and the White House.
The American suspension of all nonimmigrant visas could affect over 100,000 Turkish citizens who travel to the United States annually,
but Turkey is likely to suffer more: Roughly half a million Americans, business travelers and tourists, visit Turkey annually.
Political analysts say Mr. Erdogan is also concerned about court cases in the United States against 15 of his bodyguards, who are accused of attacking protesters in Washington in May,
and a group, including a former cabinet minister, charged with conspiring to break Iranian sanctions.
Mr. Erdogan said on Tuesday that Gulen followers had infiltrated the American Consulate in Istanbul,
and he questioned why the United States had tolerated them.
