The era of beating Turkey with economy is over: President 

ANKARA

An era when other countries, which could not beat Turkey in diplomacy, defense and military fields, used the economy as a weapon against it, has ended, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sept. 7.

“Those who could not bend our country’s wrist in diplomacy, defense, and military fields throughout history have always used the economy as a weapon,” Erdoğan said during the introductory meeting of Turkiye Sigorta (insurance company).

They were able to achieve these goals at the times when Turkey’s economy was not ”sufficiently strong,” he said pointing at exchange rates, interests and inflation as tools used against Turkey.  

“Our country has lived through the days when overnight interests rose to 7,500 percent. We have seen periods when tax revenues could not even cover interest payments. There were times when we were in danger of not being able to pay civil servant salaries,” Erdoğan stated.

“We witnessed scenes of shame where the economic bureaucracy was completely excluded and the country’s finance and treasury were handed over to IMF commissars,” he said.

“Our economy, which has been taken into a spiral of the exchange rate, interest, and inflation, has skewed for years with crises that are repeated almost every 10 years. Tur-key was not able to use its potential while the countries with which we started the race of development gained ground. We have put an end to this vicious circle with the reforms we have implemented since 2002 and prevented the waste of resources and time in the economy,” the president stated.

By paying its debt of $ 23.5 billion to the IMF, Turkey regained economic independence and entered a new era in the economy, especially after the July 15 coup attempt, he stated.

“If we can defend our country’s rights and laws on different fronts without fear today, it is the self-confidence behind that we gained in the last 18 years,” Erdoğan said.

“They will not allow those who negotiated with the IMF behind closed doors to send Tur-key back to the old days,” he said. “We will never let you go back to the old days. We are going through a critical bend in this process.”

This pandemic, which has upset the balance in the world, opened new windows of opportunity in front of countries with high production capacity like Turkey, he noted.

Turkey will be strengthened in the economy, along with other areas after the pandemic, he said.