Erdogan tells the US his country will not buckle under Trump’s sanction threats
Istanbul — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country will not buckle under US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose "large sanctions" if an American pastor detained in Turkey is not released, Haberturk newspaper reported. "You can’t make Turkey step back with sanctions," Erdogan was cited as telling reporters on his trip to Johannesburg for a Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and SA) summit. "If the US does not change its stance, it should not forget that it will lose a strong and sincere partner." The evangelical pastor, Andrew Brunson, was arrested on charges of involvement in the coup attempt against Erdogan’s government in 2016. His two-year detention has become the latest flashpoint in a crisis brewing between the Nato allies, and now threatens to deal another blow to Turkey’s already-fragile economy. Trump said in a July 26 tweet that Brunson was "suffering greatly", and that Turkey would face large sanctions if he was not released. In an interview that air...
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