Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to shift the blame for escalating tensions with the United States on outgoing US Ambassador John Bass today. Speaking in Belgrade on the second leg of an Eastern European tour, Erdogan said neither he nor any members of his Cabinet would receive Bass for farewell visits. “We do not consider him as legitimate envoy of the United States,” Erdogan said.

The latest row between the two NATO allies erupted when the United States announced Oct. 8 that it was indefinitely suspending all non-immigrant visa applications for Turkish citizens inside Turkey. Western diplomats commenting on the measure to Al-Monitor called it “drastic” and “unprecedented” and the clearest expression yet of the rapidly unraveling strategic relationship between Turkey and the United States.

The immediate trigger for American action was last week’s arrest of Metin Topuz, a Turkish national employed by the US Consulate in Istanbul for over 30 years. Most of Topuz’ career was spent acting as a liaison and translator for the US Drug Enforcement Administration. Erdogan charged that Turkish national “agents” had infiltrated US missions and that the government was entitled to act against them.

Turkish authorities accuse Topuz of having links to police officers and prosecutors who are facing trial over their connections to Fethullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania-based Turkish imam and accused mastermind of the July 2016 coup attempt. Turkey has retaliated in kind. US citizens will no longer be issued non-immigrant Turkish visas until further notice p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; color: #ff2500; -webkit-text-stroke: #ff2500} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} unless they apply outside the United States.