By Vivian Salama and Peter Nicholas 

WASHINGTON -- President Trump met in the White House on Saturday with a newly freed evangelical pastor who had been held in Turkey for two years on terrorism charges, bringing to a close a diplomatic standoff with Ankara that had jeopardized relations between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies.

Andrew Brunson's plane touched down at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington, D.C., from where he headed to meet Mr. Trump, who had used a mix of economic sanctions and public pressure as part of his effort to secure Mr. Brunson's release.

It has been "a long journey but for Andrew it has been a very interesting day," Mr. Trump said. He also thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying it was "not an easy situation for Turkey either."

The homecoming for Mr. Brunson unfolds in the shadow of the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist who hasn't been seen since he entered a Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Turkey has been looking for U.S. support in confronting Saudi Arabia over Mr. Khashoggi, who Turkish authorities allege was killed by Saudi operatives. Saudi Arabia has denied any involvement.

U.S. officials believe that Turkey's gesture in releasing Mr. Brunson will help strengthen what has been a strained bilateral relationship. From Turkey's perspective, freeing Mr. Brunson could also give the country more leverage with the U.S. over Saudi Arabia., U.S. officials said.

Evangelical Christians, an important piece of Mr. Trump's political base, had closely followed his plight and called for Mr. Brunson's release. At the meeting, he thanked the administration and said he was "so grateful to the many people in Congress who stood with us."

In an earlier tweet, Mr. Trump called the pastor a "great Christian" who endured a "tough experience" while he was detained in Turkey.

In a second tweet, Mr. Trump responded to news reports that his administration cut a deal with Turkey to ensure Mr. Brunson's release, saying "There was NO DEAL made with Turkey."

"I don't make deals for hostages," he said. "There was, however, great appreciation on behalf of the United States, which will lead to good, perhaps great, relations between the United States & Turkey!"

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, said in an interview: "This was a real barrier to having a normal relationship with Turkey. This allows us to move forward."

Mr. Brunson was arrested in October 2016 and charged with supporting terrorist groups. He denied the accusations. Over the summer he was moved from jail to house arrest.

Mr. Trump took up the cause, using his Twitter feed and diplomatic tools to get Turkey to relent. In July, he tweeted: "A total disgrace that Turkey will not release a respected U.S. Pastor, Andrew Brunson, from prison. He has been held hostage far too long."

The following month, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Turkish ministers. While Mr. Erdogan denounced the measures, he also privately looked for ways to settle the dispute, Turkish officials said.

With signs pointing to Mr. Brunson's imminent release, his lawyers were hopeful late this week but also wary. Turkey had appeared on the verge of freeing Mr. Brunson before, only to prolong his detention, they said. At a hearing on Friday, a Turkish court found Mr. Brunson guilty of aiding terror groups but sentenced him to time served, setting in motion his trip home.

Write to Vivian Salama at vivian.salama@wsj.com and Peter Nicholas at peter.nicholas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 13, 2018 16:17 ET (20:17 GMT)