Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that should United States president Donald Trump follow through on recent threat to impose sanctions on Ankara, he will imperil the relationship between the two countries. "We will not take a step back when faced with sanctions," Reuters quoted Erdogan as saying early Sunday. "They should not forget that they will lose a sincere partner." Trump warned Thursday the US will impose sanctions on Turkey, its ally in NATO, over a detained American pastor held on terror and espionage charges. Shortly after the possibility of sanctions was first announced by Vice President Mike Pence, Trump wrote on Twitter that the US will impose large sanctions on Turkey for their long time detainment of Pastor Andrew Brunson. "He is suffering greatly. This innocent man of faith should be released immediately!" the president added from aboard Air Force One as he flew to Iowa for an event. Turkey's foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, quickly responded, also via Twitter: "No one dictates Turkey. We will never tolerate threats from anybody. Rule of law is for everyone; no exception." Brunson, an evangelical Christian pastor originally from North Carolina, was let out of jail Wednesday, after 18 months, to serve house arrest because of health problems, according to Turkey's official Anadolu news agency. "Brunson is an innocent man, there is no credible evidence against him," Pence said. Trump said on Twitter last week that the pastor's detention was a total disgrace. If convicted, Brunson faces up to 15 years in prison for "committing crimes on behalf of terror groups without being a member," references to outlawed Kurdish militants and the network of a US-based cleric blamed for a failed coup attempt. He could receive another 20 years if he is found guilty of espionage. Brunson denies the charges. US senators previously pushed to block the sale of F-35 jets to Turkey, citing Brunson's detention as one instance of Turkish President Erdogan's disregard for the rule of law.
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