Erdogan warns US risks losing Turkey as strategic partner
Ankara, Aug 12 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned the US that it risked losing a "strategic partner" due to demands made by the US government that Turkey release an American pastor who was arrested on terrorism charges.
"We only bow before God. It is wrong to try to punish Turkey for a priest who is here. I am addressing the US once again: it is a pity that you chose a pastor over your strategic partner in NATO. We will only do what justice demands," Efe quoted Erdogan as saying during a rally in the northern province of Ordu.
Turkish authorities are seeking a 20-year prison sentence for US pastor Andrew Brunson, who was arrested two years ago and is accused of being linked to the PKK Kurdish guerrilla organization and to cleric Fetullah Gulen, who lives in exile in the US and whom Ankara blames for the failed coup against Erdogan in 2016.
Last week, the US government imposed economic sanctions against two Turkish ministers involved in Brunson's arrest.
In addition, US President Donald Trump announced on Friday he would increase tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum by up to 50 and 20 percent, respectively, at a time when Turkey's lira is at an all-time low.
Ankara has ruled out releasing Brunson, although he was granted house arrest in July.
A delegation from Turkey's Ministry of Foreign affairs travelled this week to the US to attempt, to no avail, to reduce tensions between the two countries.
Regarding the situation of the Turkish currency, Erdogan once again called on his fellow citizens to back the lira, which depreciated 18 percent on Friday, by selling their dollars and euros.
"If you have dollars under your pillow, take them out. If you have euros, do the same. Take them immediately to the banks and convert them into liras. By doing this, we fight for our independence and our future," Erdogan told his supporters.
For his part, the speaker of the Turkish parliament, Binali Yildirim, said Saturday via Twitter that US sanctions "are now turning into a global economic war".
Turkey's presidential spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, also said Saturday that Washington risked losing Ankara as an ally if US policies against Turkey continued.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
