Turkey, U.S. to meet to resolve visa suspension crisis: deputy PM

Officials from Turkey and the U.S. will meet to resolve the visa suspension crisis, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Thursday.

"A decision has been made between the two countries for representatives to meet and work jointly on the issue, and a step will be taken soon according to its result," Bozdag said in an interview with the TV channel Haber Turk.

His colleague, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek on Wednesday said the "the temporary undesired dispute has no political interference" and "will likely be soon resolved."

On Sunday, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara announced it had suspended non-immigrant visa services at all diplomatic facilities in Turkey.

In response, Turkey's Embassy to the U.S. suspended non-immigrant visa services in the U.S., citing security concerns.

On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the U.S. decision as "upsetting," saying Turkey's response is "based on the rules of reciprocity."

The spat between the two countries was ignited by the recent arrest of Metin Topuz, a Turkish employee at the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, over suspected link to the U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused by Ankara of being behind a failed coup attempt in July 2016.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)