ANKARA – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday vowed Ankarawould pursue non-dollar transactions in trade with Russia and othercountries, accusing the US of behaving like “wild wolves.”
Both Turkey and Russia are reeling from punitive economic measures imposedby Washington.
“America behaves like wild wolves. Don t believe them,” Erdogan told abusiness forum during a visit to Kyrgyzstan, in comments translated intoKyrgyz.
He said his country was in negotiations with Russia over non-dollar trade.
“Using the dollar only damages us. We will not give up. We will bevictorious,” Erdogan told the meeting, attended by Kyrgyz and Turkishbusinessmen as well as government officials.
Ties between NATO members Washington and Ankara hit a new low last month asUS President Donald Trump announced steep new tariffs on Turkish steel andaluminium in response to the detention of an American pastor in Turkey.
The Turkish lira shed a quarter of its value last month as the trade warwith the US ratcheted up.
Russia meanwhile saw its ruble tumble to two-year lows in August after theUS announced fresh sanctions in connection with a nerve agent poisoningincident in the British city of Salisbury.
Erdogan has also used the visit to ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan to demand theCentral Asian country of six million people relinquish all ties toFethullah Gulen, a US-based cleric and educator Ankara accuses of fomentinga coup in 2016.
Speaking Sunday, Erdogan said Turkish businesses should invest inKyrgyzstan but “may face barriers from FETO,” the term Ankara uses todescribe the network of people and institutions linked to Gulen.
The refusal of the United States to extradite 77-year-old Gulen to facetrial in Turkey is one of several sore points that have plagued aonce-strong bilateral relationship.
Gulen, whose Hizmet movement has led to the creation of schools in dozensof countries including Kyrgyzstan has always denied any links to the 2016coup attempt.
Since July 2016, over 55,000 people have been arrested over coup links inTurkey, while more than 140,000 public sector employees have been sacked orsuspended. – APP/AFP