President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday that yet-to-be-released figures would show the Turkish economy grew in the second quarter “despite all attacks on our country over foreign currencies,” the T24 news website reported.
“They have now started to say currency… Let’s give up on that. Let’s focus on our business, it will be better,” Erdoğan said during a political rally in northern Gümüşhane province.
Global observers have criticized Erdoğan’s ambition to reach high growth numbers, which eventually boosts inflation and causes losses in value of the country’s currency.
On Friday the lira hit 6.80 against the US dollar, a historic record.
Turkey has been facing a currency crisis since its relations with the US administration were dramatically strained over a court decision to put American pastor Andrew Brunson under house arrest after almost two years in pretrial detention rather than release him as demanded by the US administration.
A Turkish delegation held meetings this week with US officials in Washington to find a solution, but they reportedly returned to Turkey empty-handed.