国际英语新闻:Turkey, U.S. mutually lift sanctions on ministers

ANKARA, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has lifted sanctions on U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and Attorney General in response to the same move from the United States, Turkish Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.

The sanctions on Kirstjen Nielsen and Jeff Sessions, which include a travel ban into the country and freezing of assets in Turkey, have been lifted, the ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement.

The decision came minutes after the U.S. Treasury Department removed two Turkish ministers from a sanctions list.

Washington imposed sanctions on Turkey's Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu in August over the arrest of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who was released last month.

Turkey had retaliated by imposing similar sanctions against two U.S. officials.

Ties between Turkey and the United States were strained over the past few months by the trial of Brunson in Turkey on terrorism charges.

Brunson was accused of helping supporters of Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based cleric who Ankara says masterminded the 2016 coup attempt.