Report: Secretary of State Blindsided by White House Moves

TEHRAN (Defapress)- Pompeo was surprised by US President Donald Trump’s tweet Thursday that the Washington would “impose large sanctions on Turkey” over the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been imprisoned in the country over charges of espionage and terrorism.

Pompeo has been involved in talks to free Brunson, who has been imprisoned for a year and a half in Turkey. The charges are tied to an attempted coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The US asserts that the charges are false, and officials have demanded that Brunson be freed.

A State Department source told NBC News that Pompeo has been involved in behind-the-scenes coordination.

But, Pompeo also did not know that the White House had extended an invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Washington, D.C., this fall for a second meeting with the president, according to NBC News.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats similarly did not know of the invitation until White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced it in a tweet that was read on stage during a live interview with Coats.

The Kremlin said this week that Russia is not prepared to accept Trump’s invitation for a second meeting. And the White House said Wednesday that Trump and Putin would not meet again until next year, citing special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

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