President Donald Trump has met with Andrew Brunson, the American pastor freed after nearly two years of detention in Turkey.

Brunson, 50, arrived in the Oval Office on Saturday afternoon after being freed from a Turkish prison on Friday and flying to Germany for a medical checkup at a U.S. military hospital.

'From a Turkish prison to the White House in 24 hours, that's not bad,' Trump said as he introduced Brunson to the press.

Bruson thanked Trump and officials in his administration, as well as senators who had worked toward his release. The pastor then knelt and placed his hand on Trump's shoulder to offer a blessing.

Brunson knelt and placed his hand on Trump's shoulder to offer a blessing in the Oval Office

The Evangelical pastor prayed for Trump and asked God to pour out the Holy Spirit upon him

'Lord God I ask that you pour out your Holy Spirit on President Trump, that you give him supernatural wisdom to accomplish all the plans you have for this country and for him,' Brunson prayed.

'I ask that you give him wisdom and help to lead this country into righteousness. I ask that you give him perseverance, and endurance and courage to stand for truth. I ask that you protect him from slander from enemies, from those who would undermine,' the pastor continued.

Brunson's wife Norine then offered up her own brief prayer, and Trump graciously thanked the couple.

Turning jocular, Trump pointed at Norine and asked who she voted for in the last election, before laughing and pointing to himself.

'I would like to say that I sent in an absentee ballot from prison,' Brunson said, to laughter from the room.

Brunson and his wife Norine (left) both prayed for Trump and thanked the administration

Trump turned jocular, asking who the Brunsons had voted for in the last presidential election

'It's a little unfair, I knew the answer,' Trump joked to the press after asking about voting

'It's a little unfair, I knew the answer,' said Trump. 'I would never do that to myself, it could be too tough.'

Trump thanked Turkish President Recep Erdogan for Brunson's release and called it a 'big step' in relations between the two countries.

Brunson declined to comment on his treatment behind bars for two years in Turkey, where he was held for over a year without charges.

Eventually he was accused of connections to a 2016 failed military coup and links to a banned group, supposedly because police found pictures of a certain suspicious rice dish on Brunson's phone.

He had faced up to 35 years in prison if convicted of the charges, which came during political purges following the attempted coup.

Erdogan openly offered to trade Brunson to the US for exiled Islamic cleric Fetulah Gulen, a deal that Trump rejected.

In the Oval Office, Brunson expressed his profound love for America, saying that when the US ambassador to Germany greeted his plane and presented him with a US flag that had flown over the embassy, Brunson was moved to kiss it.

'I love this country and we pray for this country,' Brunson said.

Trump was flanked by top foreign police officials and many of Brunson's religious colleagues also joined the meeting in the Oval Office on Saturday afternoon

Freed American pastor Andrew Brunson shakes hands with Trump in the Oval Office Saturday

Trump walks with Pastor Andrew Brunson and his wife Norine Brunson at the White House

After meeting Brunson, boarded Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base to travel to Richmond, Kentucky to attend a rally

Trump waves as he prepares to board Air Force One en route to Kentucky for a 'Make America Great Again' rally in Richmond

Trump said that it was purely coincidental that Brunson had been released so soon after the disappearance of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.

The Saudi Arabian citizen and critic of the kingdom who is feared dead after disappearing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Trump said the prospects of Khashoggi still being alive were 'not looking good'.

Brunson, an Evangelical Presbyterian minister, lived in Turkey for 25 years with his wife and children.

He says he now plans to return to his home in North Carolina and spend time with his wife and children after the long separation.

US pastor Brunson arrives at Adnan Menderes airport in Izmir, after being freed

The trial of pastor Andrew Craig Brunson (pictured), which has huge implications for U.S.-Turkey relations, ended Friday with an order to release him– a move that allows him to go home

The President then tweeted that 'no deal' was struck for Brunson's release

A Turkish court on Friday convicted Brunson of only the terrorism charges, and the government then freed the evangelical pastor allowing him to return home.

The North Carolina native had rejected the charges and strongly maintained his innocence.

In a follow-up tweet the President made it clear that no deal was struck in order get to secure Brunson's release.

'There was NO DEAL made with Turkey for the release and return of Pastor Andrew Brunson. I don't make deals for hostages. There was, however, great appreciation on behalf of the United States, which will lead to good, perhaps great, relations between the United States & Turkey!'

The U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, tweeted that he presented Brunson and his wife with an American flag when they arrived in Germany, and the diplomat says Brunson 'immediately kissed it.'

President Donald Trump told reporters in Ohio that Brunson will soon meet with him in the Oval Office

US pastor Andrew Craig Brunson (down L), is escorted to his home in Izmir, Turkey, before heading to the airport to board a US military plane to begin his journey back to the United States after a court freed him

Speaking in Ohio on Friday, Trump told reporters that it was 'good news' and he understands that Brunson is 'in good shape.' Trump has long pressed Turkey for the pastor's release.

'He's going to be coming to the Oval Office, most likely on Saturday,' the president said in Ohio. 'But we're very honored to have him back here with us. He suffered greatly but we're very appreciative of a lot of people, a lot of people.'

'We went through a system and we got him out. We tried to get him out for a long time. This has nothing to do with anything and there's no deal there at all, there's no deal,' he insisted.

The White House said it was still 'deeply concerned about the continued detention of other United States citizens in Turkey and around the world, and urge the resolution of all these cases in a transparent and fair manner.'

The Turkish court's decision to lift judicial controls meant that evangelical pastor Brunson, at the heart of a diplomatic spat between the two countries, can leave Turkey and return to the United States.

Brunson's arrest in 2016 sparked a diplomatic dispute between Turkey and the Trump administration, which had threatened new sanctions against the Erdogan government.

A U.S. embassy official escorted Norine Brunson, the wife of Andrew Brunson, before his trial in Izmir, Turkey, early Friday, October 12

US pastor Andrew Brunson (C) travels in a police vehicle escorted by Turkish police as he enters Aliaga Prison Court at Aliaga District in Izmir

President Donald Trump tweeted – after international press reported the verdict – that he was '[w]orking very hard on Pastor Brunson!'

He later added in a second tweet: 'My thoughts and prayers are with Pastor Brunson, and we hope to have him safely back home soon!'

And then a third hit Twitter: 'PASTOR BRUNSON JUST RELEASED. WILL BE HOME SOON!'

Fahrettin Altun, communications director for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, insisted that Turkish courts are independent from governments, including Trump's.

'We would like to remind him once again that Turkey is a democratic country with the rule of law, and that Turkish courts are independent, he told reporters. 'No body, authority, office or person may issue orders or instructions to the courts or to judges in the exercise of their powers.'

President Donald Trump tweeted after international press reported Brunson's release that he was '[w]orking very hard on Partor Brunson, later adding his 'thoughts and prayers' and a prediction that he will have a safe return to the United States

Pamela Brunson, 75, the mother of the pastor, was at her home in Black Mountain, a town in North Carolina near Asheville, when she learned of the news from a Reuters reporter calling about the court's decision.

'They have?' she said, her voice quavering. 'Well, we were at an all-night prayer meeting during the trial and we got home and we fell asleep. We were up all night. Praise God! I'm so excited! Oh that's wonderful! Thank you so much for letting us know. We're so happy.'

She brought her husband, Ron, near the phone as the reporter read aloud some of a published Reuters report about the proceedings in Turkey.

'We are overjoyed that God has answered the prayers of so many people around the world,' she said.

In Turkey, witnesses said 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.'

The fourth hearing of the case against Brunson took place in a prison complex near the western Turkish city of Izmir.

Brunson, an evangelical pastor accused of terror-related charges and espionage, arrived in a secured convoy before daybreak. He had faced up to 35 years in jail.

Brunson, 50, has lived in Turkey for more than two decades. He rejected the charges and strongly maintained his innocence.

He is one of thousands caught up in the widespread government crackdown that followed a failed coup against the Turkish government in July 2016.

Prosecutors accused Brunson of committing crimes on behalf of terror groups, linking him to outlawed Kurdish militants and a network led by a US-based Turkish cleric who is accused of orchestrating the coup attempt.

The U.S. maintained that he was being held unjustly, and repeatedly called for his release.

The new hearing came at a time of a new but growing alignment between the U.S. and Turkey over the suspected murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who lived in America and who is feared to have been killed inside the Gulf kingdom's Istanbul consulate.

Turkish police sources have leaked information to a number of news outlets that the Turkish government believes that the Saudi Arabian government ordered Khashoggi's murder.

Some commentators have suggested that in order to procure America intervention - particularly against the Saudis, who Trump considers a firm ally – Turkey should release all of its American hostages – starting with Pastor Brunson.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters Thursday that the US was hopeful he will soon go free, but said she was unaware of any agreement for his release.

A car carrying Norine Brunson, wife of pastor Andrew Brunson, arrives at the Aliaga Prison and Courthouse complex in Izmir

Turkish security officials stand outside a courthouse before a convoy with US pastor Andrew Brunson sitting inside a car arrives for his trial in Izmir

Norine Brunson wife of American pastor Andrew Brunson, departs for her husband's court hearing. Brunson has been under house arrest in Izmir, Turkey while awaiting trial

President Trump has posted a number of tweets about Brunson's case, demanding his release and threatening sanctions on Turkey

The pastor, who is originally from Black Mountain, North Carolina, was imprisoned for nearly two years – detained in October 2016 and formally arrested in December that year – before being placed under house arrest on July 25 for health reasons.

The court's decision failed to improve tensions between the two NATO allies and Washington slapped sanctions on two Turkish officials and doubled tariff on Turkish steel and aluminum imports.

Those moves in August, coupled with concerns over the government's economic management, helped trigger a Turkish currency crisis.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has resisted demands for Brunson's release, insisting that the courts are independent.

But he had previously suggested a possible swap of Brunson and the Pennsylvania-resident Fethullah Gulen - the cleric accused of being behind the coup.

Turkish police officers stand near the residence of US pastor Andrew Brunson, who is being held under house arrest in Izmir

Official car of Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Mission to Turkey Jeffrey M. Hovenier (not pictured) arrives to visit US pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been accused of abetting terrorist groups and supporting Fethullah Gulen, the cleric blamed for the failed coup attempt in 2016

A person involved in efforts to free Andrew Brunson say the 50-year-old pastor from North Carolina could be freed at his next court appearance on Friday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because officials had not yet reached a final agreement on the release and it could still fall through

Brunson led a small congregation in the Izmir Resurrection Church. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, with representatives monitoring the trial, has listed him as a 'prisoner of conscience.'

William Devlin, an evangelical pastor from New York spoke to reporters outside the prison, saying hundreds of thousands of Christians are praying for Brunson's release.

Brunson's lawyer took the case to Turkey's highest court last week seeking his release.