Threatening language of US evangelist, Zionist mentality is unacceptable, Erdoğan says

The threatening language of the United States will not benefit anyone, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday, as the Trump administration continues to sow tensions between both countries with threatening outbursts over the case of a U.S. pastor jailed in Turkey on terrorism charges.

"Turkey has no problems related to [religious] minorities. Threatening language of the U.S. evangelist, Zionist mentality is unacceptable," Erdoğan told journalists in parliament on Wednesday.

He added: "We will continue on the path we believe in without the slightest concession to our freedom, sovereignty, or judicial independence."
On Tuesday, in a joint declaration, Turkey's minority community representatives -- including followers of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches -- said that people of different faiths live "freely".
"We as religious representatives and foundation directors of societies of different religions and beliefs, who have been settled in this country for centuries, are free to follow our beliefs and practices," the declaration read.

Erdoğan's comments come after after senior figures from Turkey's religious minorities issued a joint statement on Wednesday denying that there was pressure against their followers.

Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Turkey Armenian Deputy Patriarch Archbishop Aram Atesyan and Turkey's Chief Rabbi Ishak Haleva signed the declaration among other minority leaders, Hurriyet daily reported.

"We practise our faiths and worship according to our traditions freely," it said.

Erdoğan also said his Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, would hold talks with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on the sidelines of an ASEAN meeting in Singapore.

The two previously held two phone calls to discuss Brunson's case, as well as other issues, such as the F-35 deal with Turkey and latest developments in Syria.

Brunson was arrested in September 2016, in the aftermath of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Turkey that was carried out by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). He is accused of links to FETÖ as well as the PKK terrorist group.

Last week, a court in Izmir ordered that Brunson be put under house arrest as his trial continues, citing health problems.

The American pastor will be also fitted with an ankle monitor and is barred from leaving the country. He is scheduled to appear before a court in October for his third hearing after the court rejected an appeal for his release in a July 18 hearing.