Turkey Issues Warning to Citizens Traveling to the U.S. in Retaliation

Turkey has warned its citizens against traveling to the United States, stating that they face risks of "arbitrary detentions" and terrorist attacks. This action by Turkey follows a similar warning issued by the U.S. State Department regarding travel to Turkey on Wednesday. According to AFP, the statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry is nearly identical to the American one, warning of the increased risk of terrorism and "arbitrary detention" in the U.S. As relations between Ankara and Washington have soured, the U.S. suspended visa services for Turkish citizens for several months. This move came after the arrest of Metin Topuz, an employee of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, on charges of links to Fethullah Gülen. Turkey also detained Hamza Uluçay, a translator at the U.S. consulate in Adana, on charges of connections with Kurdish militants. Turkish officials consider Gülen to be the mastermind behind the failed coup attempt in 2016 and have demanded his extradition. Gülen has denied these accusations, and the U.S. has refused to hand him over. Turkey has also labeled the conviction of Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the deputy general manager of Halkbank, on January 3, as a "political conspiracy" and a "legal disgrace." Atilla has been accused of helping to circumvent U.S. sanctions against Iran. In the case of Iran sanctions violations, nine individuals were indicted by the U.S. prosecutor's office, with Reza Zarrab and Mehmet Hakan Atilla among those detained in the U.S. Zarrab confessed that "Ziraat Bank" and the Turkish foundation bank played roles in circumventing Iran sanctions, and several high-ranking Turkish officials received large bribes for bypassing the sanctions. Zarrab admitted to paying $50 million in bribes to former Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan for transferring gold from Iran. He also stated that Iran's oil and gas money was converted into gold through Halkbank and then sent to Dubai for sale and conversion to cash. On the other hand, Turkey has expressed strong dissatisfaction with U.S. support for the People's Protection Units in Syria. In this context, Turkey called the New York court ruling against the Halkbank director a "legal disgrace." Erdogan referred to the U.S. court ruling against Atilla as a "political coup attempt" against himself. Erdogan stated that if the U.S. does not extradite Gülen, the criminal extradition agreement will be canceled. Erdogan also announced that Turkey will establish its embassy in Palestine in East Jerusalem.