Ankara is ready to roll out an "action plan" to respond to a record plunge in the Turkish lira's value amid the ongoing crisis in Turkish-US relations, according to Turkey's Finance Minister Berat Albayrak.
"Our institutions will take necessary action from Monday in order to relieve the markets," he pointed out, adding that the action plan would include "the state of our banks and the small and medium size enterprises" which were hardest hit by the lira's collapse.
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His remarks came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan underscored that "the aim of the operation is to make Turkey surrender in all areas, from finance to politics."
"We are once again facing a political, underhand plot. With God's permission we will overcome this," Erdogan stressed.
In his recent op-ed for the New York Times, Erdogan warned the US against disrespecting Turkey's sovereignty and sticking to "the misguided notion that our relationship can be asymmetrical and come to terms with the fact that Turkey has alternatives."
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"Failure to reverse this trend of unilateralism and disrespect will require us to start looking for new friends and allies. You can never bring this nation in line with the language of threats," Erdogan underlined.
Meanwhile on Monday, the Turkish Interior Ministry said that it is taking the necessary legal measures against social media statements which create a negative perception of the economy.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump tweeted that he had authorized a doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Turkey, while praising "the very strong dollar" and referring to the Turkish lira's collapse.
The Turkish lira proceeded to lose more than 16 percent of its value against the US dollar, reaching an all-time low following Trump's announcement.
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With Washington claiming that Brunson was jailed unlawfully, Ankara pledges to freeze the US Justice and Interior Secretaries' assets in Turkey in retaliation for the sanctions.
