Turkey Reaches Out to EU During Trade Spat over Brunson: 'The US Is Not Our Only Partner'

In the wake of US sanctions on Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reached out to German Chancellor Angela Merkel to point out that it's in Germany's interest for Turkey to have a strong economy.

"The United States is an important trading partner, but it is not our only partner. We have other partners and alternative markets," said Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan. "We have responded to the sanctions with $533 million of extra tax."

President Erdogan is also scheduled to hold a telephone conversation with France's President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday.

"Turkey does not favor an economic war, but it cannot remain unresponsive when it is attacked," presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said.

The trade spat between the US and Turkey stems from the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.

On Wednesday, a Turkish court rejected an appeal for Brunson's release.

"The president has a great deal of frustration on the fact that Pastor Brunson has not been released as well as the fact that other US citizens and employees of diplomatic facilities have not been released," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. "We are going to continue to call on Turkey to do the right thing and release those individuals."

"(President Erdogan) is not acting like much of an ally, and he hasn't acted like much of an ally for some period of time," Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback said.

Brownback gave an update on Brunson while appearing on "Washington Watch" with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins.

"The administration has taken decisive aggressive action, and I am so thankful," Brownback said. "This is a clear religious freedom case... You wouldn't expect an ally to treat another ally's citizen this way."

Brunson is being tried on espionage and terror-related charges, which he denies.