Turkey's Erdogan at UN rails against sanctions 'as weapons'

Turkey's Erdogan at UN rails against sanctions 'as weapons'
The Turkish president implicitly accused the US of creating chaos.
1 min read
25 September, 2018
Erdogan criticised countries that are "persistently trying to create chaos" [Getty]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday sharply criticised the use of economic sanctions "as weapons" in his address to the United Nations, in an implicit swipe at the United States.

"None of us can remain silent to the arbitrary cancellation of commercial agreements, the spreading prevalence of protectionism and the use of economic sanctions as weapons," Erdogan told the UN General Assembly.

Ties between Washington and Ankara hit a low in August when President Donald Trump announced steep new tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminium in response to the detention of an American pastor in Turkey.

The Turkish lira has taken a beating on the currency market, sparking fears in Turkey of a full-blown economic crisis.

"Nobody wants the world to experience a new economic rupture," said Erdogan.

He did not accuse the United States directly but pointed to "countries that are persistently trying to create chaos."

"It is very easy to create chaos but it's difficult to re-establish order, and today some countries are persistently trying to create chaos."

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday he was hopeful Turkey would release this month the American pastor, Andrew Brunson, who has been detained for nearly two years on terror charges.