Turkey has urged the United States to review its suspension of visa services after the arrest of a US consulate employee sharply escalated tension between the two NATO allies and drove Turkey's currency and stocks lower.
Relations between Ankara and Washington have been plagued by disputes over US support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, Turkey's calls for the extradition of a US-based cleric and the indictment of a Turkish former minister in a US court.
But last week's arrest of a Turkish employee of the US consulate in Istanbul marked a fresh low.
Turkey said the employee had links to US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for a failed military coup in July 2016.
The US embassy condemned Ankara's charges as baseless and announced on Sunday night it was halting all non-immigrant visa services while it reassessed Turkey's commitment to the security of its missions and staff.
Within hours, Ankara announced it was taking the same measures against US citizens seeking visas for Turkey.
The US ambassador said the duration of the visa services' suspension would depend on talks between the two governments about the reasons for the detention of local staff in Turkey.
In a written statement late on Monday, Ambassador John Bass said the length of the suspension would also depend on "the Turkish government's commitment to protecting our facilities and personnel here in Turkey".
Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul said that if Washington had serious security concerns about its missions in Turkey, steps would be taken to address them.
"But if it's an issue regarding the arrest of the consulate employee, then this is a decision the Turkish judiciary has made," Gul told A Haber television. "Trying a Turkish citizen for a crime committed in Turkey is our right."
The Turkish foreign ministry summoned a US diplomat to urge the United States to lift the visa services suspension, saying it was causing "unnecessary tensions", and President Tayyip Erdogan also criticised the US move.
"For the (US) embassy in Ankara to take such a decision and implement it, it is upsetting," Erdogan told a news conference during a visit to Ukraine.
The diplomatic spat has spooked investors. The lira dropped 3.4 per cent and stood at 3.7385 against the dollar.
The main BIST 100 stock index fell as much as 4.7 per cent, closing the day down 2.73 per cent at 101,298 points.
