Turkey’s Erdogan says attack on economy no different from attack on flag amid US pressure
20 Aug, 2018
An attack on the Turkish economy is no different from a strike against the flag, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, referring to US economic pressure on his country.
“The attack on our economy has absolutely no difference from attacks on our call to prayer and our flag,” he said referring to the recent Turkish currency crisis, triggered by US economic pressure.
Read more at https://www.rt.com/news/436352-erdogan-attack-economy-flag/
Merkel, Putin Exchange Views On Ukraine, Syria, Iran, Pipeline
The Kremlin says German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a “”very serious and detailed” three-hour discussion during their meeting outside of Berlin, including an exchange of views on Ukraine, Syria, Iran, and a crucial pipeline project.
The remarks to reporters early on August 19 by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov were the first comments after the meeting of the two leaders at Meseberg Castle north of Berlin. Few details were revealed.
Read more at https://www.rferl.org/a/merkel-putin-germany-russia-berlin-iran-ukraine-talks/29441541.html
Turkey’s Attempt to Stem the Lira Rout May Come Back to Haunt It
By Constantine Courcoulas
and Tugce Ozsoy
While Turkish authorities may have stopped the lira from hemorrhaging, their measures may cost the nation’s debt and equity markets.
By squeezing liquidity out of the offshore currency swap market, the banking regulator forced speculators betting against the lira to close their positions. That also made it much harder for foreign investors in local bonds and stocks to hedge their currency risk. Now, it looks like they’re bailing.
Read more at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-20/turkey-s-attempt-to-stem-the-lira-rout-may-come-back-to-haunt-it
US escalates trade war against Turkey as Ankara moves to attack workers
By Alex Lantier
17 August 2018
As Turkey’s currency plunges after initial US trade war measures targeting its aluminum and steel exports to the United States, Washington is pledging more sanctions. Coming as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government moves to attack the workers in response to the collapse of the lira, Washington is signaling that it intends to strangle Turkey’s economy and achieve the regime change it failed to carry out in the 2016 attempted coup.
Read more at http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/08/17/turk-a17.html
Germany: Possible Syria meeting with France, Russia, Turkey
August 17, 2018
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says officials are looking into the possibility of a four-way meeting on Syria involving Turkey, Russia, Germany and France.
The idea of such a meeting has been raised by Turkey. Asked about the possibility Friday, Merkel stressed that there are already two main formats for talks on Syria, both working closely with U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura.
Read more at https://newsok.com/article/feed/4924019/germany-possible-syria-meeting-with-france-russia-turkey
