Freed American pastor arrives home from Turkey, meets Trump

An American pastor held for two years in Turkey on terror-related charges arrived home in the United States on Saturday, with President Donald Trump welcoming him to the White House.

Andrew Brunson, who was at the center of a row between the United States and Turkey, Brunson thanked Trump in the Oval Office, saying "you really fought for us, unusually so, from the time you took office." A Turkish court on Friday ordered his release from house arrest.

Brunson then knelt down and prayed with the president, asking God for "supernatural wisdom to accomplish all the plans you have for this country and for him."

Trump said it was a "great honor" to have Brunson in the White House and thanked a number of lawmakers and members of the Cabinet for their assistance in securing the pastor's release.

Brunson was detained in October 2016 in the aftermath of a failed coup and put under house arrest in July this year. From the outset, he has denied the charges that he had links to supporters of a U.S-based Turkish cleric accused of being behind the coup.

The case soured relations between Ankara and Washington, sending the Turkish lira into a tailspin in August. The plunge in the lira also prompted currencies in other emerging countries to gyrate against the U.S. dollar, casting a pall over global financial markets.

Earlier in the day, Trump dismissed reports that Washington and Ankara reached a secret deal for Brunson to be freed in exchange for the United States easing "economic pressure" on Turkey, adding the release will lead to an improvement in bilateral relations.

"There was NO DEAL made with Turkey for the release and return of Pastor Andrew Brunson. I don't make deals for hostages," he said in a Twitter post.

"There was, however, great appreciation on behalf of the United States, which will lead to good, perhaps great, relations between the United States & Turkey!"