The U.S. Treasury Department lifted sanctions on two Turkish officials targeted in retaliation for the country’s detention of an American pastor released last month in the latest sign that tensions between the two NATO allies are easing.
Turkey’s Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul and Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu, who had been sanctioned for their roles in organizations responsible for the arrest and detention of Pastor Andrew Brunson, were removed from Treasury’s sanctions list early Friday. The action followed Brunson’s release Oct. 12 after more than two years over his alleged aid to people involved in a failed coup. Brunson and the U.S. repeatedly rejected those accusations.
