Brunson...

A Turkish court ruled to release the U.S. evangelical Christian pastor at the center of a bitter diplomatic row between Ankara and Washington, a move that could be the first step towards mending ties between the NATO allies.

The court passed a 3 years and 1 1/2 month sentence on Brunson, who had been charged with terrorism offenses, but said he would not serve any further time because he had already been detained since October 2016.

Andrew Brunson wept as the decision was announced. Before the judge's ruling, the pastor told the court: "I am an innocent man. I love Jesus, I love Turkey."

Brunon was charged with links to Kurdish militants and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, the cleric blamed by Turkey for a failed coup attempt in 2016.  
This led to led to U.S. tariffs against Turkey and drawn condemnation from President Donald Trump.