Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's president has lashed out at the Financial Times and other western media, accusing them of falsely portraying the economy as being on the brink of collapse.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke Thursday after the Financial Times reported that Turkey's Central Bank had bolstered its foreign currency reserves with short-term borrowed money, leading to concerns that Turkey may not be able to defend itself in the event of a currency crisis. The Turkish lira weakened some 2% against the dollar following the report.
Erdogan insisted the economy "is standing strong." He claimed Turkey was being attacked because it was speaking out against injustices, including about refugees.
Erdogan said: "Oh Financial Times! What do you know about Turkey which hosts 4 million refugees? How many refugees are there in your country?"
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
