ANKARA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's talks with the United States over the ongoing visa row "is moving towards a good point," Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Wednesday.
"Details will be clarified in a couple of days. I believe that this issue will be resolved soon," Kalin said in a televised interview with state-run TRT news channel.
His remarks came after a U.S. delegation met with Turkish counterparts in Ankara on Wednesday in a bid to resolve a diplomatic row in bilateral relations.
The Turkish group was led by Deputy Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ahmet Muhtar Gun, and the U.S. delegation was led by Jonathan Cohen, deputy assistant secretary of State.
"U.S. officials in Ankara will convey Turkey's messages to Washington. What we have agreed is that there should be better coordination between the interior, foreign and justice ministries, the exchange of information, visit to the arrested persons and their contacts with lawmakers," Kalin stated.
The row was sparked on Oct. 8, when the U.S. Embassy in Ankara announced the suspension of non-immigrant visa services for Turkish nationals, following the arrest of a local employee at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, prompting a tit-for-tat response from Ankara.
Metin Topuz, a local consulate employee, was arrested last week over alleged ties to followers of Fetullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for orchestrating the defeated coup attempt of July 15, 2016.
The crisis swiftly escalated as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed then-U.S. Ambassador to Ankara John Bass for what Erdogan asserted was his role in the suspension of non-immigrant visa services in the country.
According to Hurriyet Daily News, Washington is asking Ankara to share "qualified information" on the arrested consulate staff and for any possible future judicial processes regarding the U.S. diplomatic mission personnel.
