WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington and Ankara have reached an agreement to free the US priest, Andor Branson, who has been held by Turkey for two years, a US television network said on Thursday, quoting senior officials in the administration of President Donald Trump.
NBC News quoted officials and a third person familiar with the matter as saying they expected Branson to return to his home in North Carolina in the coming days after the Turkish government released him two years later.
The sources said that the agreement reached by the parties, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September, to drop the Turkish judiciary in the next session, scheduled Friday, a number of charges wave to the American cleric.
The agreement was shared by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton.
But it is not yet clear what the rest of the deal is, but the sources said it would include a US commitment to easing economic pressure on Turkey.
Branson, one of the most contentious issues in a diplomatic dispute between Ankara and Washington, pushed the United States to impose sanctions and customs duties on Turkey.
Ankara arrested Branson on his way to the Izmir provincial police station in 2016 and remained in jail for about a year and a half before being placed under house arrest in July.
Turkey has accused Pastor Branson of involvement in an attempted coup and supporting terrorist groups.
American doubts
However, Trump's administration is not confident that Turkey will abide by the supposed agreement, as Ankara was about to release the priest several months ago, but it has retreated, according to a US official.
"We still believe that Rev. Brunson is innocent, and that the Friday hearing is another opportunity for the Turkish judicial system to release the American citizen," the official said.
The officials said that the Turkish authorities did not notify the White House until Thursday morning of any change to the trial session in Brunson on Friday.
A spokesman for the Turkish embassy in Washington, DC, did not respond to a request for comment. The White House declined to comment on the record, and the Brunson family said it had not spoken to the media at the moment.
Branson has been in Turkey for more than 20 years, accusing him of helping a group Ankara says is behind a coup attempt in 2016.
The priest, who denies the accusations, faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted.
