Turkey will emerge from economic siege victorious, says parliament speaker

The exchange rate cannot be explained economically and Turkey will emerge from this economic siege victorious, Parliament Speaker Binali Yıldırım said on Tuesday while speaking to Turkish ambassadors during an address at the Çankaya Palace in capital Ankara.

“Our people have seen the game. It is not a problem that we cannot overcome. We will emerge from this crisis successfully,” Yıldırım said.

“The fluctuations of the exchange rate cannot be explained with Turkey’s economic indicators. The basis of these developments are political, not economic. Turkey is closed to economic impositions brought upon by political accounts,” he added.

Relations between Ankara and Washington have been rocky since the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Turkey’s interior and justice ministers last week after Ankara refused to release American Pastor Andrew Brunson, who faces terrorism-related charges in Turkey.

Last Friday, President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in his turn said Turkey would turn toward new markets, new partners and alternative financial tools.

“If you pressure us through the dollar, we will look for other ways to carry out our works,” he said.

Terming the recent U.S. tariffs on Turkey as an “economic war,” the Turkish president said: “We’ve seen your game and we challenge it.”

The aim of the recent U.S. pressure is “to ensnare Turkey in every field from finance to politics,” the president noted.

“We will not surrender,” Erdoğan asserted.