UN Hopes US-Turkey Spat Has No Impact On Other Countries In Middle East - Spokesman

UN Hopes US-Turkey Spat Has No Impact on Other Countries in Middle East - Spokesman

The United Nations hopes the current diplomatic dispute between the United States and Turkey will not affect other countries in the Middle East, spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2018) The United Nations hopes the current diplomatic dispute between the United States and Turkey will not affect other countries in the middle East, spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Tuesday.

Last week, President Donald Trump authorized the doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkish imports, up to 50 and 20 percent, respectively, in response to the detention of US pastor Andrew Brunson by Ankara.

"Both the United States and Turkey are two very important countries, are playing very important role in the region," Dujarric said told reporters during a press briefing." We would not want to see these tensions have an impact beyond these two countries."

The United Nations believes the current issues between Washington and Ankara can be resolved through dialogue, the spokesman stressed.

Earlier on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government would boycott electronic goods from the United States in response to the US tariffs.

Turkish authorities put Brunson in jail in 2016 for alleged 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 the same year. The pastor was released from a Turkish prison in July and placed under house arrest.