Turkey 'will freeze assets of 2 U.S. officials' in retaliation for sanctionsAugust 4, 2018 - 14:49 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey will freeze the assets of two U.S. officials in retaliation for Washington sanctioning several Turkish ministers, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Saturda, August 4, according to Al-Masdar News. “The latest step taken by the U.S. in the incident of Pastor Brunson in İzmir was not suitable to a strategic partner. The U.S. has displayed a serious disrespect with this step,” Erdoğan said in a speech to the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) women’s branch congress in Ankara on Aug. 4. “We have had shown patience until yesterday evening. Today I am instructing my friends that we will freeze the assets of U.S. secretaries of justice and interior in Turkey,” he added. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to meet with his Turkish counterpart in the next few days, as they look to settle their issues over Pastor Brunson. Photo. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. Baku: EU, U.S. share responsibility for Armenia’s “destabilizing actions” Azerbaijan has declared that the European Union and the United States will share responsibility for any destabilizing actions of Armenia |