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US State Secretary Pompeo, Turkish FM Cavusoglu Discuss Pastor Brunson Case

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Saturday discussed in the second call this week the case of US pastor Andrew Brunson, committing to continue discussions on the matter, US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
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"Secretary Michael R. Pompeo spoke today with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss the case of Pastor Andrew Brunson. The Secretary and Foreign Minister committed to continued discussions to resolve the matter and address other issues of common concern," Nauert said in a statement published on the State Department's official Twitter account.

US Playing 'Hardball' With Turkey as ‘Pressure’ on Trump Mounts Over Pastor
In the first phone conversation with Cavusoglu earlier this week, Pompeo said it was "well past time for this innocent pastor Andrew Brunson" to come home, the State Department said on Friday.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that if Ankara did not free Brunson, Turkey would face sanctions.

READ MORE: State Dept. Says There's ‘Excellent Prospect’ That Pastor Brunson Will Return

Turkish authorities put Brunson in jail in 2016 accusing him of ties to the movement of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, referred to as Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) by Ankara and accused of having orchestrated a failed military coup that took place in Turkey in the same year.

The pastor was released from a Turkish prison on Tuesday and placed under house arrest.

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