In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday while he was in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly meetings, Erdoğan said that the current economic challenges have been exaggerated more than necessary and Turkey will overcome these challenges with its own resources.
U.S. President Donald Trump, infuriated over American Pastor Andrew Brunson's detention on terrorism charges, authorized a doubling of duties on aluminum and steel imported from Turkey in August. Turkey retaliated by increasing tariffs on U.S. cars, alcohol and tobacco imports.
Turkey's central bank raised its benchmark rate by 625 basis points this month, boosting the lira. Erdoğan said the decision was a clear sign of the central bank's independence, adding that as president he was against increasing rates.
The president also said a Turkish court, not politicians, will decide the fate of Brunson whose detention has roiled relations between Ankara and Washington.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday he was hopeful Turkey would release terror-linked evangelical pastor Brunson this month. He was moved to house arrest in July after being detained for 21 months. However, Erdoğan stressed Tuesday any decision on Brunson would be made by the court.
"This is a judiciary matter. Brunson has been detained on terrorism charges ... On Oct. 12 there will be another hearing and we don't know what the court will decide and politicians will have no say on the verdict," Erdoğan said.
If found guilty, Brunson could be jailed for up to 35 years. Brunson, a pastor for the last 20 years at the Evangelic Resurrection Church in western Turkey's Izmir, was arrested on alleged links to the PKK terrorist group and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), who orchestrated an attempted coup on July 15, 2016.
"As the president, I don't have the right to order his release. Our judiciary is independent. Let's wait and see what the court will decide," Erdoğan said.
TURKEY TO CONTINUE BUYING IRANIAN GAS
Turkey will continue to purchase Iranian natural gas, Reuters reported Wednesday quoting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
In a late Tuesday interview with Reuters in New York on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting, Erdoğan said the U.S. threats to punish countries doing business with Iran would not deter Turkey from purchasing Iranian natural gas.
"We need to be realistic ... How can I heat my people's homes if we stop purchasing Iran's natural gas?," Reuters quoted Erdoğan as saying.
The first round of the U.S. pre-nuclear deal sanctions on Iran, largely targeting the country's banking sector, came into effect in August.
In November, a second phase of U.S. sanctions banning the purchase of Iranian oil and gas is expected to come into effect.
The sanctions target Tehran's acquisition of U.S. dollars, precious metals trade, transactions related to Iran's rial currency, activities related to Iran's sovereign debt, and the country's automotive sector.
- SYRIA CRISIS
Regarding the ongoing Syria crisis, Erdoğan reiterated that "it was impossible for Syrian peace efforts to continue with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power."
He added that the withdrawal of "radical groups" already started from a new demilitarized zone in Syria's Idlib region.
Last week, Turkey and Russia agreed to establish a demilitarized zone in Idlib, Syria's last opposition stronghold, following a meeting in Sochi between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Ankara and Moscow also signed a memorandum of understanding calling for the "stabilization" of Idlib's de-escalation zone, in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.
According to the MoU, opposition groups in Idlib will remain in areas in which they are already present, while Russia and Turkey will conduct joint patrols in the area with a view to preventing renewed fighting.
