Earlier I wrote about how there was finally an end in sight for the diplomatic spat between the US and Turkey, which began in October
The situation unfolded when a worker at the US consulate in Istanbul was arrested over suspicions of being linked to a cleric blamed for last year’s failed coup. The US stated that if Turkey isn’t committed to the security of their mission and personnel in Turkey, they would no longer provide visa services. Within hours Turkey responded with a reciprocal policy, stating they’d no longer issue visas for Americans looking to visit Turkey, under most circumstances (there were exceptions, but you couldn’t get a visa at a consulate in the US, couldn’t get an e-visa or visa on arrival if traveling to/from the US, etc.).
Today some progress was made on this front, as the US resumed visa services in Turkey effective immediately. The US claimed that they received assurances from the Turkish government that no employees at the US mission in Turkey are under investigation. It was expected that Turkey would quickly reciprocate and again issue visas for Americans as before. It looks like that did indeed happen, with a catch.
On the plus side, US citizens can once again get visas for Turkey, whether at an embassy in the US, online, or on arrival (it’s impressive that Turkey’s e-visa website has already been updated to again allow Americans to apply).
However, it looks like this diplomatic dispute may not be over completely. CNN is reporting that the Turkish embassy in Washington says that the United States is misinforming the public by saying that they’ve received assurances from the Turkish government.
https://twitter.com/CNNTURK_ENG/status/946394063405797382
This certainly has the potential to get interesting and not be completely over, given the tit-for-tat approach that governments take in these situations. So for now visa services have been restored. However, who knows if in a few hours the US will again suspend visa services since they’ve been accused of misinforming the public and apparently haven’t received the assurances that they claim to have received.
We’ll have to wait and see how this unfolds, but for now it’s business as usual once again, which is great.
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