U.S. is stabbing Turkey in the back, says Erdoğan

Central Bank offers liquidity assistance but no rate hike
Turkey’s Central Bank on Monday sought to calm markets rattled by the precipitous plunge of the Turkish lira as a defiant President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan chastised the U.S. for seeking to stab Ankara “in the back”. A dispute between NATO allies Turkey and the United States — which reached new intensity over the detention of an American pastor — has hammered the lira and also raised questions over the future partnership between Washington and Ankara. As the latest developments caused the lira to plunge further in value, investors fretted over potential economic contagion from Turkey, particularly to European banks.
Mr. Erdoğan indicated that he was in no mood to offer concessions to the United States in one of the worst spats between the two NATO allies in years. He said Turkey was facing an “economic siege”, slamming the currency movements as an “attack against our country”. Mr. Erdoğan has been sanguine over the punitive measures announced by the U.S., saying that while Turkey’s relationship with Washington is at stake, it will look for other partners. Mr. Erdoğan on Saturday described interest rates as a “tool of exploitation”, in remarks unlikely to impress the markets. The Interior Ministry launched an investigation into 346 social media accounts on grounds of “provocative sharings”, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported. American pastor Andrew Brunson has been held since October 2016 on terror and espionage charges and, if convicted, could face a jail term of 35 years. Mr. Trump has described his detention as a “total disgrace” and urged Mr. Erdoğan to free him immediately. A delegation led by Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal failed to secure a deal last Wednesday in talks in Washington on a number of issues including Mr. Brunson.
Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/us-is-stabbing-turkey-in-the-back-says-erdoan/article24684010.ece

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