The United States has partially resumed issuing visas in Turkey after receiving what it said were "assurances" about the safety of its staff at its diplomatic missions, following a series of detentions this year, ABC News reported.

The Turkish embassy in Washington responded almost immediately that it would match the move while calling it a positive development, although Ankara denied US reports that there had been any "assurances".

The US embassy added however that despite its move, it remained deeply concerned over the detention of two of its locally employed staff at diplomatic missions in Turkey, and the fate of US citizens arrested under a state of emergency in force since a failed coup last year.

The arrest of a veteran employee at the US consulate in Istanbul a month ago led the United States to suspend all non-immigrant visa services while it assessed the security of its staff in Turkey.
Within hours of the US announcement on October 8, Turkey said it was implementing reciprocal measures and President Tayyip Erdogan later angrily accused Washington of sacrificing a longstanding alliance with Ankara