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International desk: The US warned Thursday it would levy more sanctions on the troubled Turkish economy if Ankara does not soon release a jailed American pastor described by President Donald Trump as a \u201chostage.\u201d<\/p>\nInternational desk: The US warned Thursday it would levy more sanctions on the troubled Turkish economy if Ankara does not soon release a jailed American pastor described by President Donald Trump as a \u201chostage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deepening a spat that has rattled financial markets and threated to split a long-standing defense and political alliance, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested the next spiral of tit-for-tat sanctions was coming soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have put sanctions on several of their cabinet members,\u201d Mnuchin told President Donald Trump in a cabinet meeting attended by the press, including AFP.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have more that we are planning to do if they don\u2019t release him quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump prefaced Mnuchin\u2019s remarks by saying that Turkey had not been a very good friend to America.<\/p>\n
Referring to imprisoned pastor Andrew Brunson, Trump said \u201cthey have a great Christian pastor there, he\u2019s a very innocent man.\u201d<\/p>\n
He later tweeted that the Protestant clergyman, who has been detained since 2016 when he was arrested in a government crackdown following a failed coup bid, was a \u201cgreat patriot\u201d being held \u201chostage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christian evangelicals constitute an important part of Trump\u2019s political base.<\/p>\n
The threat comes as Turkey sought to reassure investors rattled by the sanctions-fueled crash of the Turkish lira, insisting the country would emerge stronger.<\/p>\n
Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, the son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressed hundreds of foreign investors from the United States, Europe and Asia via a conference call in a bid to soothe the markets.<\/p>\n
The lira has clawed back some ground over the last two days \u2014 after losing almost a quarter of its value on Friday and Monday \u2014 but economists are warning that Turkey must urgently address its economic imbalances to avoid
\nmore troubles ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cTurkey will emerge stronger from these (currency) fluctuations,\u201d Albayrak was quoted by state-run TRT television as saying during the conference call.<\/p>\n
Albayrak rejected seeking a bailout from the IMF, an option never seen as likely given that Erdogan often boasts of paying off Turkey\u2019s past IMF debts in May 2013.<\/p>\n
The lira, which earlier this week traded at well over seven to the dollar, held onto its gains during Albayrak\u2019s discussion, trading at 5.7 against the greenback.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will turn this crisis into an opportunity,\u201d said Erdogan\u2019s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin after a cabinet meeting chaired by the president, saying measures taken so far had helped bring about a \u201crapid improvement process\u201d over the last two days.<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018Not fast enough\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n
But Albayrak, who was appointed last month in a largely unexpected move, will have a tough time restoring order to an economy plagued by high inflation and a current account imbalance.<\/p>\n
The lira\u2019s months-long slide has accelerated as a result of the diplomatic standoff with Washington over Brunson\u2019s detention. A Trump tweet on Friday announcing a doubling of aluminum and steel tariffs for Turkey triggered the
\nrout in the currency markets.<\/p>\n
The lira\u2019s drop in value is certain to further fuel inflation, which is already near 16 percent.<\/p>\n
Albayrak said there would be no concessions on fiscal discipline, adding: \u201cWe are targeting lowering inflation into the single digits as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, analysts are calling for a sharp hike in interest rates \u2014 which Erdogan adamantly opposes because it will put a brake on economic growth.<\/p>\n
In an intensifying cycle of tensions with the United States, Erdogan has called for a boycott of US electronic goods such as iPhones and Ankara has sharply hiked tariffs on some US products.<\/p>\n
He has also warned Ankara could start looking for new allies, as well as new markets.<\/p>\n
\u2013 New markets \u2013<\/p>\n
Qatar, backed by Erdogan during the Saudi-led embargoes on the emirate in 2017, on Wednesday pledged to channel $15 billion of direct investment into Turkey, a sign of burgeoning ties between the two countries.<\/p>\n
Analysts say Turkey is also likely to seek a more dynamic economic relationship with China and Russia, with whom ties have warmed considerably in recent years.<\/p>\n
Turkey has also in recent days shown an interest in repairing ties with Europe after a crisis sparked by Ankara\u2019s crackdown on alleged plotters of the 2016 failed coup.<\/p>\n
Erdogan and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron agreed in a phone call Thursday to foster trade ties, a Turkish presidential source said.<\/p>\n
Albayrak spoke Thursday with his German counterpart Olaf Scholz and they agreed to \u201ctake steps in order to reinforce economic cooperation,\u201d Albayrak\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Turkish courts have moved to defuse other legal cases that have irritated relations with the EU.<\/p>\n
An Istanbul court allowed the release of Amnesty International\u2019s Turkey chair Taner Kilic Wednesday, who spent more than a year in jail over alleged links to the 2016 coup bid.<\/p>\n
And the day earlier, two Greek soldiers held by Turkey since March for illegally crossing the border were also freed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
International desk: The US warned Thursday it would levy more sanctions on the troubled Turkish economy if Ankara does not soon release a jailed American pastor described by President Donald Trump as a \u201chostage.\u201d Deepening a spat that has rattled financial markets and threated to split a long-standing defense and political alliance, Treasury Secretary Steven […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":46576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n