'Opposition party slams US move to suspend visa'

Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Monday criticized a decision by the U.S. to suspended all non-immigrant visa operations at all U.S. diplomatic facilities in Turkey.

Speaking to journalists in the parliament, Engin Altay, deputy chairman of the CHP, called on the U.S. to behave sensibly over the visa issue.

“We are making a call of common sense over this issue. We are making the same call for both [the ruling] AK Party, the government, the president and the U.S.,” he said.

Altay said the U.S. decision had hurt the Turkish nation’s pride.

He added: “This is the breaking point for Turkish-American relations.”

The U.S. on Sunday suspended all non-immigrant visa operations at all U.S. diplomatic facilities in Turkey., saying it was reassessing Turkey's commitment to the security of U.S. facilities and personnel.

Turkey retaliated by suspending non-immigrant visa service in the U.S. citing security concerns.

"In order to minimize the number of visitors to our Embassy and Consulates…we have suspended all non-immigrant visa service at all Turkish diplomatic facilities in the U.S.,” said the Turkish Embassy in the U.S. in a statement.

Turkish national Metin Topuz, confirmed by the U.S.’ Istanbul Consulate as a local employee, was remanded in custody over terror charges by an Istanbul court on Wednesday.

Topuz is linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind last year’s defeated coup in Turkey, a judicial source said on Wednesday.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the attempted coup, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Topuz has been linked to a number of FETO suspects, including police commissioners and former prosecutor Zekeriya Oz, a fugitive accused of attempting to overthrow the government through the use of force, according to a source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.