US diplomatic team due in Ankara to resolve visa rift

By Tugrul Cam

ANKARA

Senior U.S. diplomats are due to arrive in Ankara on Monday in an attempt to resolve the visa crisis between the countries, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said.

The U.S. mission will be led by Jonathan Cohen, deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs at the State Department.

The sides will meet on Tuesday, the Turkish official said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Last week, both countries suspended the issuing of non-immigrant visas from missions on each other’s territory.

The breakdown followed the Oct. 6 arrest of Metin Topuz, a Turkish employee at the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, on suspicion of ties to the Terrorist Organization, said to have orchestrated last year’s attempted coup in Turkey.

The crisis coincided with the planned replacement of U.S. Ambassador John Bass, who left Turkey the weekend. The U.S. will be represented in Turkey by Deputy Chief of Mission Philip Kosnett until a new ambassador is appointed.

Last week, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he had spoken to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson by telephone to work out an end to the dispute. , Ahmet Muhtar Gun, deputy undersecretary at the Foreign Ministry, met Bass.