The White House rejected the Turkish offer to release US pastor Andrew Brunson in exchange for stopping the US investigation against the Turkish bank.

Ankara offered to remove accusations in exchange for forgiveness of billions of dollars in US fines on a Turkish bank.

The United States rejected this and added that the US could impose additional sanctions against Turkey sometime this week.

“A real NATO ally wouldn't have arrested Brunson in the first place,” the senior White House official told the Wall Street Journal. 

Since the beginning of the year, the Turkish lira has lost over 30%, but the situation has sharply deteriorated amid the diplomatic scandal between Ankara and Washington in connection with the case of US pastor Andrew Brunson as the latter is judged for espionage and assistance to terrorists, while Washington insists on his innocence and demands immediate release.

The Turkish delegation visited Washington to settle disagreements, but the sides could not reach an agreement. Moreover, after the Turks’ visit, President Donald Trump increased tariffs on the Turkish steel and aluminum imports by 20% and 50% respectively.