Down below you will find a summary of topics from major Turkish papers and internet sites.
President Abdullah Gül says “We won’t let Syria chaos spill into Turkey”
Criticizing the world for offering only symbolic rhetoric on Syria and emphasizing the poor international support of refugees, during his visit to Reyhanlı following deadly May 11 bombings, Turkish President Abdullah Gül said ““Turkey will not allow the chaos in Syria to spill into the country. Everyone must acknowledge this. We will never permit that, I want this to be understood”.
Gül went on to say “The international community’s contribution to Turkey’s financial aid to these people who are in a difficult situation is only symbolic”. Only a few days ago car bombs had killed 52 people in Reyhanlı, Turkey’s border town near Syria.
Obama and Erdoğan agree Assad should leave
At the joint press conference conducted by U.S. President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 16, it was stated by both politicians they had full agreement that a democratic process without Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was required for a democratic transition of said country currently facing big problems.
The question as to how and when was not clarified though in spite of attempts from journalists trying to catch a few words from both leaders.
“Good News” for Turkey: Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and USA on the way
After the meetings between Erdoğan and Obama and two delegations Biden, US VP of the United States of America stated that Erdogan and Obama had agreed to begin efforts for a Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and US.
Biden stated that the promise of Turkey, and its significant potential, continued economic growth were reason for every American to take into consideration because it was overwhelmingly in the naked self-interest of America.
Moody’s upgrades Turkey’s rating to investment grade
It is reported that credit rating agency Moody’s has upgraded Turkey’s bond rating from Ba1 to Baa3. Experts have found it interesting that the announcement was made on Thursday to coincide with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to the United States.
Moody’s had made an announcement last month saying that a settlement process between Turkey and the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was a positive development for the country’s credit rating.
Central bank slashes key borrowing rate in
Hoping to obtain strong growth figures Central bank announced that it had dropped its main interest rate to 4.5 percent on Thursday.
On the same day, the bank also cut its overnight borrowing rate from 4 percent to 3.5 percent. It reduced the lending rate from 7 percent to 6.5 percent. As with past cuts, the bank also increased the reserve requirement for banks that hold more thank 30 percent of their reserves in foreign exchange.
Central bank cited slowing demand for exports and Turkish lira appreciation as key reasons for the decision.
17.05.2013
SOURCE: MEDIA
We do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.
