US-Turkish relations spiraling amid tit-for-tat penalties over detained pastor

While still nominally allies, the U.S. and Turkey's relationship is continuing to fall apart amid new economic penalties in the continued fight over an American pastor detained in Turkey. Andrew Brunson has been at the heart of the ongoing fight after the U.S. sanctioned two top Turkish officials for his continued detention, and Turkey's vow to retaliate, even as its currency plummets. Even though a meeting between National Security Adviser John Bolton and Turkey's U.S. ambassador on Monday yielded no public progress, the White House is now leading the talks with Turkey over Brunson's release and a host of other issues that have dragged down the alliance. A senior State Department official referred questions to the White House and declined to say whether Brunson's case had to be resolved before there could be progress on other issues.