World

The Latest: Turkey court rejects release of US pastor

17 of August 2018

A man walks out of a currency exchange shop in Istanbul, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. Beset by a weak currency and tension with the United States, Turkey is reaching out to Europe in an attempt to shore up relations with major trading partners despite years of testy rhetoric and a stalled bid for EU membership. The overtures by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has harshly criticized Germany and other European nations in the past, are part of a diplomatic campaign to capitalize on international unease over U.S. President Donald Trump and American tariff disputes. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis),A man walks out of a currency exchange shop in Istanbul, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. Beset by a weak currency and tension with the United States, Turkey is reaching out to Europe in an attempt to shore up relations with major trading partners despite years of testy rhetoric and a stalled bid for EU membership. The overtures by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has harshly criticized Germany and other European nations in the past, are part of a diplomatic campaign to capitalize on international unease over U.S. President Donald Trump and American tariff disputes. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Latest on Turkey’s currency crisis and diplomatic dispute with the United States (all times local):

3:25 p.m.

Turkey’s state-run news agency says a higher Turkish court has also rejected an appeal for the release from detention of an American pastor who is at the center of a Turkish-U.S. spat.

Anadolu Agency said a high court in Izmir upheld a lower court’s decision earlier this week to keep pastor Andrew Brunson under house arrest. It also rejected an appeal for his travel ban to be lifted, Anadolu reported.

Brunson’s continued detention has aggravated a feud between the NATO allies and has helped trigger a Turkish currency crisis.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday signaled new sanctions against Turkey over Brunson’s detention and Turkey said it would reciprocate.

___

11:05 a.m.

Turkey’s currency remains steady against the dollar despite an apparent threat of possible new sanctions by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Turkish lira stood at 5.80 per dollar on Friday, up about 0.4 percent against the dollar.

The currency has recovered from record lows earlier this week. Investors, already worried about Turkey’s economy, were irked by a diplomatic and trade dispute with the United States over the continued detention of an American pastor Andrew Brunson on espionage and terror-related charges.

In a tweet on Thursday, Trump urged Brunson to serve as a “great patriot hostage” while he is jailed and criticized Turkey for “holding our wonderful Christian Pastor.”

Trump added: “We will pay nothing for the release of an innocent man, but we are cutting back on Turkey!”