US and Turkey suspend all visa services
The United States embassy in Ankara says it is suspending, with immediate effect, all non-immigrant visa services at its diplomatic facilities in Turkey.
A very similar statement was earlier made by the Turkish embassy in Washington.
The decision came hours after the U.S. mission to Turkey reduced visa services after one of its employees was detained last week, saying it needed to “reassess” Turkey’s commitment to the security of its personnel.
Non-immigrant visas are issued to all those travelling to the United States for tourism, medical treatment, business, temporary work or study. Immigrant visa services are only for those seeking to live in the US permanently.
“In the beginning Turkey hoped that Donald Trump would be much more friendly and much more cooperative but more and more we see now the Donald Trump administration distancing itself from Turkish policies, and this will create in the long run much more difficulties for Turkey, in particular,” Huseyin Bagci, professor of international relations at Ankara’s Middle East Technical University, told RT news agency.
The latest developments will affect both countries in a negative way but the implications of the cooling in relations will be felt more by Turkey, the professor added.
