Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has added to the Turkish government’s defiant rhetoric in the face of US sanctions over a detained North Carolina pastor, Andrew Brunson, who has become a lightning rod in the souring relationship between the two NATO allies.

Speaking at an Aug. 4 gathering of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya, Cavusoglu said, “If you impose sanctions, you will be confronted with sanctions. What can you achieve with threatening language?”

Cavusoglu’s comments coincided with vows by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to retaliate in kind following the US Treasury’s move to freeze the assets of Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu in keeping with sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act, targeting corruption and human rights abuses. 

“Those who think that they can make Turkey take a step back by resorting to threatening language and absurd sanctions show that they do not know the Turkish nation,” said Erdogan, who also appeared to shift blame for the escalation to Vice President Mike Pence. On July 26, Pence had become the first US official to openly threaten sanctions against Turkey over Brunson's continued detention.