Erdogan stood against Trump

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his country’s willingness to deal with national currencies in trade with Russia, Iran, China and other countries in response to Washington’s imposition of economic sanctions on Ankara.

Speaking at a meeting of the advisory council of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the northern state of Reza, Erdogan said the crisis between the two countries was not about the dollar, the euro or gold, but rather an economic war against Turkey.

“We are ready to use national currencies in our trade with China, Russia, Iran, Ukraine and other countries with which we have the largest trade”, he said.

“Turkey is ready to put the same system with European countries if they want to get out of the grip of the dollar”.

He described the US punitive measures as a new attempt for the families of Turkey, through the economy this time, after the failure of the coup attempt mid-July 2015, and threatened the United States, saying: “Those who are dealing with Turkey for small accounts will pay the price in the region and in their internal policies”.

The Turkish president confirmed that Washington has given Ankara until 6 pm to hand over US priest Andrew Branson on charges of espionage and terrorism, a matter that has become the main source of tension in relations between the two countries in recent weeks.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump announced a 20 percent and 50 percent increase in tariffs on Turkey’s steel and aluminum imports, causing the Turkish lira to fall again against the dollar, a 19 day decline.

Erdogan vowed on Saturday to respond to the “American threats” regarding the release of the US priest, in the latest evelopment to test the strong power between him and the US administration, which caused a significant decline in the price of the Turkish lira.

The dispute between Washington and Ankara has risen sharply over the past few days, ranging from stern statements to the exchange of sanctions to the recent US decision to impose additional duties on imports of steel and aluminum from Turkey. The immediate result of this tension was a rapid decline in the price of the Turkish lira, which lost Friday 16% of its value against the US dollar.

Although the relationship between the two countries was not at its best, what prompted it to this degree of tension trial of the American pastor Andrew Branson on charges of “terrorism” and “espionage” in Turkey, was placed under house arrest at the end of July after he spent in Imprisoned for about a year and a half.

The United States has demanded his immediate release, while Ankara has at times asked for replacement by Turkey’s Fathullah Gulen, a US resident, for nearly 20 years, which Ankara accuses of being behind the failed coup in July 2016.

“It is a disgrace to seek to subjugate Turkey with threats because of a priest”, Erdogan said at a rally in Onye on the banks of the Black Sea.

“Shame on you, shame on you, you are substituting your strategic partnership within NATO”.

Turkey and the United States are key members of NATO and Turkey is receiving a large US base in the southern city of Incirlik, which is now used as a center of operations in the war against the organization of the Islamic state.

“If the United States does not start respecting Turkey’s sovereignty and asserting its understanding of the dangers our nation faces, our partnership may be already threatened”, Erdogan said in a New York Times op-ed on Saturday.

“The failure to stop the current trend of exclusivity and lack of respect will lead us to seek new friends and allies”,

Erdogan said.

Erdogan’s remarks came after the sudden collapse of the Turkish lira, especially because of the US president’s announcement in a tweet that he had doubled tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum.

“Interest rates should be reduced to the lowest level possible because they are a tool that will make the poor poorer and the rich richer”, Erdogan said on Saturday in another speech in Reza on the Black Sea.

In recent weeks, the Turkish central bank has been under pressure to raise interest rates to cope with large inflation and the deterioration of the national currency.

– “You and the dollar and God” –

“If they have the dollar we have God”, Erdogan said on Friday, calling on the Turks to avoid panic and turn their savings of gold or foreign currencies into the Turkish lira to support the national currency and win the “war of independence”.

Erdogan stressed that he is committed to judicial proceedings regarding the fate of Rev. Branson. “So far we have not made any concessions in the judiciary, and we will not do that at all”, he said.

“Our relations with Turkey are not good at the moment”, Trump said in a tirade announcing the increase in tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Iran on Saturday backed Ankara in its dispute with the United States.

Like Turkey, Iran has seen a sharp drop in the price of the Iranian riyal in recent months after Washington’s decision to reinstate economic sanctions on Tehran and its withdrawal from Iran’s nuclear deal.

“The great joy that the American president has shown about causing economic problems for his ally NATO is flawed”, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet on Saturday.

“The United States must learn how to curb its addiction to sanctions and intimidation”, Zarif said.

“Otherwise, the whole world, apart from verbal condemnations, will unite and force it”.

Zarif recently confirmed his “support” for Turkey at a time when Erdogan is threatening Washington toward “new allies”.