US and Turkey lift sanctions imposed on ministers during Brunson row

The United States and Turkey on Friday lifted sanctions imposed on each others' ministers in August at the height of a row over the detention of a Christian pastor.

The US Treasury Department said on its website that it removed two Turkish ministers from a sanctions list.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul were sanctioned under a human rights act over the detention of Christian pastor Andrew Brunson in Turkey.

In October, a court in Turkey lifted the house arrest and travel ban against Brunson, who was arrested two years ago on espionage and terrorism-related charges and whose detention triggered a diplomatic crisis with Washington. He has returned to the US.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry said it had lifted sanctions imposed on two top US officials.

"A ban on US Attorney General Jeff Sessions and US Secretary for Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen to enter Turkey and a blockade on their assets in the country has been lifted," ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said.

The trial against the evangelical US pastor strained relations between the NATO allies, which imposed not only tit-for-tat sanctions but also tariffs on imports. The impasse triggered a currency crisis in Turkey.

Brunson was accused of links to the movement of Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic cleric who lives in exile in the US and whom Turkey blames for a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

He was also accused of having ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the European Union.