Turkey, U.S. lock horns on visas amid deepening differences

The United States and Turkey on Sunday indefinitely halted all non-immigrant visa services to each other's citizens amid deepening differences between the NATO allies.

The U.S. Embassy in Ankara made the first move by releasing a statement saying that "recent events have forced the United States Government to reassess the commitment of the Turkish Government to the security of U.S. diplomatic facilities and personnel."

The statement added the suspension is intended to minimize the number of visitors to the embassy and consulates in Turkey.

The Turkish Embassy in Washington retaliated immediately by issuing a similar worded statement that mirrored the one released by the United States.

The spat between the two countries was ignited by the recent arrest of Metin Topuz, a U.S. consulate worker in Istanbul who was accused of suspected links to Fethullah Gulen.

Fethullah Gulen, a Pennsylvania-based cleric blacklisted by Ankara, was blamed for orchestrating last year's failed coup in Turkey.

Ankara has repeatedly demanded for the extradition of Gulen, while the requests have fallen on deaf ears in Washington as the latter asked for more evidence.

Washington condemned the arrest of Topuz as "baseless" and damaging to bilateral relations, accusing the Turkish government of "seeking revenge."

Ironically, the new diplomatic row between the two NATO allies came less than a month after U.S. President Donald Trump said bilateral ties between two sides were "close as we have ever been."

Turkey and the United States have been allies for more than half a century. The Incirlik air base in Turkey where U.S. forces are deployed has been an important asset for U.S. air power in eastern Mediterranean.

The consulate staff is the second U.S. government employee to be arrested since last year, in addition to a dozen U.S. citizens in Turkey held for suspected links to the Gulen network, according to local media.

Turkey has jailed last year a U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson for attempting to topple the Turkish government and its constitutions.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry summoned Topuz on Monday over Washington's decision to halt visa service, expressing "concern," said a Turkish source to Xinhua.

Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul expressed hope during a TV interview on Monday that the United States would reconsider its decision.

"Putting a Turkish citizen on trial for a crime committed in Turkey is our right. I hope the United States will revise its decision in this light," he told A Haber news channel, once again calling on U.S. authorities to hand over Gulen.

The visa dispute added to the ongoing tensions between Washington and Ankara since last year's coup attempt.

The NATO allies are at odds on the support given by the Pentagon to a Syrian Kurdish militia that Ankara deems as a terror group affiliated to its outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The U.S. decision taken against Turkey was unusually harsh, considering the fact that Turkey has been an ally of the United States for several decades, local experts have noted.

"United States is attacking the sovereignty of Turkey. This person (Topuz) does not have diplomatic immunity and is a Turkish citizen accused of grave crimes," said Dr. Bora Bayraktar of the International Relations Department at Istanbul Kultur University, stressing that "this is the lowest point in history of the relations between Turkey and the United States."

Bayraktar pointed out that the United States should be responsible for the degradation in bilateral relations, for its support to the Syrian Kurdish movement who is "clearly considered as hostile by Ankara, and for not responding at all to Turkey's sensitivity regarding the Gulen movement."

"However frustrated the United States gets by the arrest of its two local employees, Turkey basically argues that Gulen supporters infiltrated the embassy's personnel. The U.S. embassy could disagree with the accusation but it cannot disrespect the legal system of the country (Turkey)," said Tulin Daloglu, an experienced journalist and a specialist on Turkey-U.S. relations.

"Furthermore, the American decision to suspend all non-immigrant visa services looks like an unjustified punishment of the Turkish people. Whatever the real reason is behind the unprecedented decision, it is political," she added.