Alwaght-Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said on Wednesday that remarks by the US national security adviser regarding Turkey's economic situation were proof that the US administration is targeting a NATO ally as part of an economic war.
In a written statement responding to an interview that John Bolton gave to Reuters, Erdogan spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the US administration's most recent policies were at odds with the fundamental principles and values of the NATO alliance.
The spokesman slammed what he said was the United States's disregard for Turkey's legal process, adding that Washington had made arbitrary comments and demands in the case of a detained pastor.
Kalin called on the US to respect Turkey's judicial independence, one of Ankara's most pointed responses yet to criticism over its detention of evangelical Christian pastor Andrew Brunson.
"There is rule of law in Turkey and the Andrew Brunson case is a legal issue. There is an ongoing legal process related to this individual," Kalin said in a statement to Reuters.
"It goes without saying that we find unacceptable the disregard of the legal process by the United States, which has been making certain demands."
On Tuesday, John Bolton told Reuters during a visit to Israel that Ankara “made a big mistake in not releasing Pastor (Andrew) Brunson”.
Brunson, 50, was arrested in October 2016 during the purges occurring after the aftermath of the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt.
The pastor was detained after being accused of being a member of the Gülen movement, which the Turkish government considers to be a terrorist organisation - something Brunson denies.
Charges against him were later amended to include spying and attempting to overthrow the government.
If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison for “committing crimes on behalf of terror groups without being a member.”
