President Donald Trump thanked Turkey on Saturday for freeing US pastor Andrew Brunson after two years in custody and said it would help improve strained relations, but he denied cutting a deal with Ankara, Reuters reports.
“I don’t make deals for hostages. There was, however, great appreciation on behalf of the United States, which will lead to good, perhaps great, relations between the United States & Turkey!” Trump wrote in a tweet.
Trump specifically thanked President Tayyip Erdogan “for his help”, drawing a curt response from the Turkish leader, who has repeatedly said it was a court’s decision to make, not his.