Turkey’s President on Saturday said the country will freeze the assets of two U.S. officials in retaliation for sanctions against its Justice and Interior Ministers over the detention of an American pastor, while attempting a conciliatory tone.
Speaking in Ankara, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey had been “patient” since the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Wednesday, but has ordered authorities to “freeze the assets of America’s Justice and Interior ministers in Turkey, if there are any.” It is unclear who this would affect, due to differing Cabinet roles in the U.S. than in Turkey, or if the intended officials even have any holdings here.
Turkey’s Interior and Justice Ministers mocked the sanctions, saying they have no assets in the U.S, but the sign of deteriorating Turkish-American relations sent Turkey’s currency the lira tumbling. Despite this, Mr. Erdogan called for a return to the two country’s partnership, saying, “We think there is no problem we cannot solve with the American administration.”
