Source: CNN
By Caroline Kelly
The White House has rejected a Turkish offer to release an American pastor in exchange for forgiveness of billions of dollars in US fines on a Turkish bank, expressing that other matters would be considered only after Andrew Brunson is released, a senior administration official told The Wall Street Journal.
The rejection could lead to the US imposing additional sanctions against Turkey sometime this week, the Journal reported. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that the United States is willing to do so if Brunson isn’t released.
“A real NATO ally wouldn’t have arrested Brunson in the first place,” the senior White House official told the Journal, referring to Turkey’s membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Read more at: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/19/politics/white-house-rejects-turkey-offer-andrew-brunson/index.html?utm_content=2018-08-20T08%3A34%3A46&utm_term=link&utm_source=twCNNi&utm_medium=social