The case of jailed US pastor Andrew Brunson is being addressed in accordance with the rule of law and the extending of his arrest under detention should be considered within this understanding, Hurriyet Daily News reported Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy as saying on July 19. He spoke as reports emerged that the US may squeeze the availability of international loans to Turkey as part of its response to the case.

The Foreign Ministry statement was a sign that tensions between Nato allies Turkey and the US are not likely to recede any time soon.

A Turkish court earlier this week ruled that Brunson should be kept behind bars, prompting US President Donald Trump to send a strong message to Turkey demanding the release of the pastor, who has been in jail for two years on charges of spying and terrorism.

In a Twitter posting on July 18, Trump described the court’s decision as a “total disgrace.”

“The Brunson case is a legal process. And the process is ongoing. He is able to meet with his family, lawyers and consulate officials regularly. This judicial process is conducted on the principle of the rule of law. Turkey is a state of law,” the foreign ministry spokesman told reporters in Ankara.

The next hearing in the Brunson case is scheduled for October 12.

ABC reported on July 19 that the US Senate was weighing bipartisan legislation that would restrict loans from international financial institutions to Turkey until it releases Brunson and other US citizens, of which there are more than a dozen.

Six senators introduced a bill on July 19 to sanction Turkey until it ends the "the unjust detention" of nearly two dozen US citizens, according to the news outlet.

Its report said that the bill would specifically direct the top US executives at the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to block future loans to Turkey, except for humanitarian purposes.

"Until Turkey begins acting like a NATO ally again, we will continue to pursue measures like sanctions and loan restrictions against them. We desire cooperation and strengthening ties between our countries, but the US government has a responsibility to ensure the safety and welfare of its own people," Senator James Lankford (Republican, Oklahoma), said in a statement, alongside fellow Republicans, Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Bob Corker of Tennessee and Democrat Senators Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Bill Nelson of Florida, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Bob Menendez of New Jersey.

Ahead of the Brunson trial there were signs that Turkey and US were working to improve ties.

Turkish and US troops have been conducting joint patrols in the Syrian town of Manbij that was once under control of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)-affiliated Syrian Kurdish militia YPG.

Washington recently announced that it was working with Turkey on the potential sale of a Raytheon Co Patriot missile defence system to render Ankara's planned purchase of a Russian-made S-400 system unnecessary.

Some commentators argue that Turkey is holding Brunson as a bargaining chip. Washington is resisting Turkey’s demands for the extradition of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says planned the botched putsch in 2016, though he strenuously denies it.