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US, Turkey lift sanctions imposed in case of detained pastor

Turkey and the United States on Friday lifted sanctions against each others' ministers, Ankara's foreign ministry said, as tensions ease between the NATO allies. In a parallel move to the US Treasury's decision to remove sanctions against the Turkish justice and interior ministers, ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said it would do the same for US Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen.

Published November 02,2018
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Turkey and the U.S. on Friday lifted sanctions on senior government officials that had been imposed during the diplomatic standoff over the arrest of American pastor Andrew Brunson, officially ending a case that had strained relations between the two NATO members.

The Treasury Department said it was lifting the sanctions on Turkish Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül and Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu, while Turkey removed its retaliatory measures against Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

The moves follow the release last month of Brunson, who spent two years in prison and faced the possibility of a life sentence on terrorism charges."

Brunson was convicted in October on charges of providing assistance to terrorist groups and sentenced to three years in prison. But he was freed and allowed to leave the country. He is now back in the United States.