Turkey overcomes speculations on currency: Presidency

ANKARA

Presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın said the recent fluctuations of the Turkish Lira against the United States dollar have been “brought under control,” adding that the speculations over the national currency have been overcome. 

“With the coordination of [Treasury and Finance] Minister Berat Albayrak, an action plan has been launched. The environment that would call for speculations over the lira has been eliminated,” Kalın said on Aug. 16 after the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers.

His comments came as the lira began gaining value against the U.S. dollar after a critical fall over the last week.

“We have entered into a period of normalization. We will take steps to preserve it,” Kalın added.

“All channels over the speculations and operations of perception over the lira have been closed. All citizens, consumers, employers, producers should stay calm. We will overcome this process with calm and rational steps and without panic,” he said.

Kalın quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s words before the meeting. “Turkey will transform this crisis into an advantage,” he said.

The spokesperson thanked Qatar’s pledge for further investment and indicated Erdoğan’s contacts with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have had “positive responses.”

Both leaders have expressed their concern over U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent economic moves to impose further tariffs, he said, adding that these moves are also hurting Europe and the Eurozone.

“We have received positive responses from Kuwait, Germany, France and even Russia,” said Kalın.