Erdogan slams Western media outlets over negative coverage of Turkish economy
The Turkish president has lashed out at Western media outlets for launching a "smear campaign" aimed at painting a gloomy picture of Turkey's economy, which is in the throes of currency fluctuations, vowing that his country will stand firm in the face of such attacks.
Speaking at a business forum on Thursday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan singled out the Financial Times (FT), a day after the London-based international business daily questioned the Turkish central bank's management of foreign currency reserves.
The newspaper had reported that Turkey’s central bank had "bolstered its foreign currency reserves with billions of dollars of short-term borrowed money," sparking fears among observers and investors that the country -- one of the Middle East's largest economies -- may not be capable of defending itself in the event of a currency crisis.
The Turkish national currency, lira, weakened around two percent against the US dollar in the aftermath of that report.
“There is a smear campaign against us. Some Western media outlets are in efforts to describe our economy as collapsed, finished," Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News quoted Erdogan as saying.
Erdogan insisted that the economy "is standing strong" despite the media campaign, adding, "Whatever you do, whichever headlines you put on your papers, Turkey will stand tall and continue its path. We are now used to this media, these rag papers."
“The dose of such attacks against us rises as we speak out more powerfully over global injustice. Hey, Financial Times, have you ever acknowledged the fact that Turkey hosts more than 4 million Syrians?”
The FT report said Turkey's foreign reserves were much lower than the $28.1 billion officially reported in April if the short-term borrowing was stripped out of the calculation. In reaction, the Turkish central bank acknowledged short-term operations may impact reserve figures, but said its accounting was in compliance with international standards.
SS
