Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Aug. 13 his country is under an economic “siege” that has nothing to do with its economic indicators.
During an address to Turkish ambassadors in the capital, Ankara, Erdoğan said that Turkeywould overcome the “attack” on its economy.
He insisted that Turkey’s economy remains strong and said the currency would soon settle “at the most reasonable level.”
In an apparent reference to the United States, Erdoğan said “the bullies of the global system cannot roughly, shamelessly encroach on our gains that were paid for by blood.”
Erdoğan also dismissed any suggestion that Turkey might intervene in dollar-denominated bank accounts, saying any seizure or conversion of those deposits into lira was out of the question.
Referring to his statement on Aug. 12 that he said he has “Plan B or Plan C,” Erdoğan added: “They say that Plan C is seizing capital. Did you read my mind? Are these people fortune-tellers? It is impossible to understand them.”
The Turkish leader’s comments came after authorities launched investigations into hundreds of social media accounts for alleged reports they claimed were helping the currency’s plunge.
Erdoğan said there is an “economic terror” being waged on social media, adding that “traitors” would be punished.