Fate of American pastor not my decision, says Erdogan

A Turkish court will decide whether the American pastor, whose detention has struck a blow to relations between Ankara and Washington, will be released, President Tayyip Erdogan said, according to a Reuters report.

In an interview with Reuters, Erdogan rejected claims that he, or any other politician, can decide the fate of evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson, noting it was a decision for the country’s courts.

"This is a judiciary matter. Brunson has been detained on terrorism charges... On 12 October there will be another hearing and we don't know what the court will decide and politicians will have no say on the verdict," Erdogan said.

"As the president, I don’t have the right to order his release. Our judiciary is independent. Let’s wait and see what the court will decide," Erdogan added during the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York.

Ties between Washington and Ankara hit a low in August when President Donald Trump announced steep new tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminium in response to the detention of an American pastor in Turkey.

The Turkish lira has taken a beating on the currency market, sparking fears in Turkey of a full-blown economic crisis.

Erdogan on Tuesday sharply criticised the use of economic sanctions "as weapons" in his address to the UN, in an implicit swipe at the US.

"None of us can remain silent to the arbitrary cancellation of commercial agreements, the spreading prevalence of protectionism and the use of economic sanctions as weapons," Erdogan told the UN General Assembly, pointing to "countries that are persistently trying to create chaos".

"It is very easy to create chaos but it's difficult to re-establish order, and today some countries are persistently trying to create chaos."

But the Turkish president later denied that the Brunson case caused the fall in Turkey's economy, noting it is "not even closely related" to Ankara's economy. 

"The current economic challenges have been exaggerated more than necessary and Turkey will overcome these challenges with its own resources," Erdogan told Reuters.

The latest remarks follow comments made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday, who said he was hopeful Turkey would release this month the American pastor, who has been detained for nearly two years on terror charges.