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Turkey calls on US to get back to dialogue — top diplomat

The Turkish top diplomat said he doesn’t rule out that the United States may impose sanctions on any European country

ANKARA, August 14. /TASS/. Turkey calls on the United States to get back to dialogue to resolve the existing problems in their relations, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

"It is necessary to get back to dialogue to resolve the problems. Threats and pressure from the United States are fraught with chaos," he said at a joint news conference with his visiting Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

The Turkish top diplomat said he doesn’t rule out that the United States may impose sanctions on any European country. "Today, sanctions are imposed on Turkey, tomorrow they can be used against any other European nation. If the United States wants to be respected on the global arena, it must show respect to the interests of other countries," he stressed.

Relations between Turkey and the United States strained following US President Donald Trump’s decision to raise customs duties on aluminum and steel imports from Turkey to 20 and 50%, respectively. The move entailed a dramatic fall of the Turkish lira. Another stumbling block in bilateral relations is the arrest of American pastor Andrew Brunson in Turkey.