Turkish, US FMs discuss visa row over phone

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke on the phone with his US counterpart Rex Tillerson on Wednesday to discuss mutual visa suspension issue, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.

Wednesday's talk between the two officials is first since the U.S. Embassy in Turkey on Sunday announced the suspension of non-immigration visas for Turkish nationals following the arrest of a Turkish employee Metin Topuz at the U.S. consulate in Istanbul.

In a retaliatory move, Turkey's Washington Embassy also suspended non-immigrant visa services, saying, "Recent events have forced Turkish Government to reassess the commitment of the Government of the United States to the security of Turkish Mission facilities and personnel."

No more details have been released.

Topuz is suspected to be linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), the group behind last year’s defeated coup attempt in Turkey, according to a judicial source.

He has been linked to a number of FETÖ suspects, including police commissioners and former prosecutor Zekeriya Oz, a fugitive accused of attempting to overthrow the government through the use of force, said a source, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions.

Later, another foreign ministry source said Ahmet Muhtar Gun, deputy undersecretary at the ministry, met with the outgoing U.S. Ambassador John Bass at the ministry's headquarters.

The meeting aimed to overcome the visa dispute between the two countries, said the source, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Bass announced the visa suspension and issued a video Monday discussing his decision, but there has yet to be any official comment from Washington.

“I personally find it odd that high-level U.S. officials did not conduct any means of communication with our foreign minister. It is concerning for an Ankara ambassador to take such a decision then claim he took it ‘in the name of my country’,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday.

Erdogan warned that Turkish-U.S. ties could be further damaged if U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration played a role in the visa decision.

If the decision was made after discussion with senior officials, “then we have nothing to discuss with the administration", he said.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen of orchestrated the attempted coup, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.