The release of the US reverend held in Turkey: a possible deal between Washington and Ankara

The American reverend Andrew Brunson who his detention and then placed under house arrest in Turkey sparked a diplomatic crisis between Ankara and Washington, has attended his trial again in court on Friday at a trial session at 7:00 GMT in the court of Ali Agha north of the city of Izmir, amid US pressure to release him.

The diplomatic crisis caused by this issue between the two NATO members, contributed to the decline of the Turkish lira and revealed the weakness of the Turkish economy.

The court had rejected in previous sessions the release of the reverend, but people close to him and Washington showed some optimism before the court session on Friday.

On the basis of the decision of the court, a decision was taken to release him due to the expiry of his sentence and therefore Friday he was allowed to leave the country.

As for the position of the Turkish president on the decision of the court, and after he had attacked Brunson in the past, Erdogan distanced himself from the case this time through his recent remarks, in which he stressed non-intervention in “judicial matters”, and said: “I have to succumb to the decision of the judiciary”!

Brunson, who oversaw a small Protestant church in Izmir, has been under house arrest since the end of July after being held for a year and a half for “terrorism and espionage”, which he categorically denied.

US officials have told the Washington Post that a deal between Washington and Ankara could allow the release of US priest Andrew Brunson, who is being held in Turkey within days.

According to the newspaper, the deal includes the lifting of US sanctions against Turkey in exchange for a prison sentence for Brunson, equal to the length of time spent in prison, or allowing him to spend part of the sentence in the United States.

The agreement, which was discussed during a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last month, will allow the release of Brunson, according to US officials who asked not to be named.

US officials have been cautiously optimistic about the deal, the previous deal collapsed last summer, and the two sides exchanged accusations of inappropriate steps.

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said she did not know of any deal on the release of Rev. Brunson.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed his hope that Andrew Brunson would soon be released, saying that this would contribute to the normalization of relations between the two countries.

US reverend Andrew Brunson has been held in Turkey for two years on charges of terrorism and supporting the attempted coup in Turkey in 2016.

Brunson left Turkey on Friday for a flight to Germany, where he will be received by President Donald Trump after spending two years in detention.

The defense attorney of reverend Brunson lawyer Ismail Cim Halafort told AFP that his client, who raised the issue of his detention in Turkey, a diplomatic crisis between Ankara and Washington left on a US military plane took off from Adnan Menderes airport in Izmir heading to the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Another plane takes him back home.

The White House later announced that Brunson was out of Turkish airspace and was expected to arrive at Andrews air base near Washington on Saturday afternoon.

The US president was quick to welcome the news, saying he would welcome the freed priest in the Oval Office as soon as he returns on Saturday.

“Good news, Reverend Brunson is now in the air and I think he is in good health after having suffered so much during his two years in Turkey behind bars and then under house arrest”, Trump told reporters on his arrival in Dina Cincinnati, Ohio, for an election rally.

The US president confirmed that the freed priest would visit the White House, probably on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump has denied US media reports that the release of reverend Brunson was under an agreement between Ankara and Washington, in which the US administration pledged to ease its economic pressure on Turkey.

“We have talked to Turkey but no agreement has been made”, the Trump said.