US-Turkey spat over consular staffer arrest takes another turn for the worst

The spat between the US and Turkey took another turn for the worst yesterday when the State Department defended its Ankara ambassador John Bass’ decision to suspend non-immigrant visa services for Turkish nationals, Bloomberg reports. The suspension came after a US consular staff member, a Turkish national, was arrested last week on suspected involvement in the 2016 coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkish authorities repaid the US in kind. The State Department maintains that it has found no evidence against the staffer.