US decision to suspend visa services in Turkey saddening: Erdoğan

KYIV

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Oct. 9 that the latest U.S. decision to suspend visa services at diplomatic facilities in Turkey was saddening.

“Above all, this decision is saddening. The fact that the ambassador in Ankara took such decision and implemented it is saddening,” Erdoğan told a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv.

Erdoğan added that Turkish foreign ministry officials called their correspondents over the issue and he suggested the necessary response to be given "based on the rules of reciprocity."

The Turkish Embassy in Washington had issued a statement on Oct. 8 announcing the suspension of U.S. visa applications hours after the U.S. Embassy in Ankara stated that it had halted visa services in Turkey.