Turkish ministers dismiss US sanctions over pastor

ANKARA - The two Turkish ministers, who were sanctioned by the United States, dismissed late Wednesday and Thursday Washington's sanction over the imprisonment of US Pastor Andrew Brunson in Turkey.

In his official Twitter account, Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul said late Wednesday he has "not even a single cent" in the United States. "I did not have any dream but living in my country," Gul said.

"We have one property in America, and it is FETO. We will not leave him there. We will take him," Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu said on his Twitter account on Thursday in a reference to US based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen and his movement, dubbed by Turkish government as the Fetullahist Terror Organization (FETO).

The US Department of the Treasury said in a statement that the two Turkish ministers had "played leading roles in the organizations which were responsible for the arrest and detention of Pastor Andrew Brunson."

Under the sanctions, any property, or interest in property, belonging to Gul and Soylu within US jurisdiction would be blocked. Americans would generally be prohibited from doing business with them.

Brunson, a 50-year-old Christian pastor, was detained two years ago in Turkey on spying charges, and faces up to 35 years in prison if found guilty.