Fatih Altaylı reveals disaster scenario for Turkey: 'If he returns...'

Journalist Fatih Altaylı, in a statement from Silivri Prison, evaluated the meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and former Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati.

Altaylı stated that if this meeting results in a change at the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the Turkish economy could face a severe crisis.

“THE DOLLAR COULD HIT 70 LIRA IN A MONTH”

Emphasizing that current credit ratings are due to Mehmet Şimşek being in charge of economic management, Altaylı said, “If Nebati returns, Turkey’s credit rating would fall to unimaginable levels in a week. The dollar could see 70 lira within a month.”

Stating that Mehmet Şimşek is a “lesser of two evils” figure who speaks the same language as international financial circles, Altaylı expressed that Nebati could only return for ‘populist’ policies ahead of an election.

“IT WOULD BE A BREAK FROM ECONOMIC REALITIES”

Altaylı described a potential return of Nebati as an “epistemological break from the realities of the economy” and said that Turkey would rapidly lose altitude in such a situation. He added, “I do not expect Nebati to sit in the ministerial chair again at this moment.”

FOREIGN POLICY CRITICISM: ZANGEZUR CORRIDOR

In his assessment, Altaylı also touched upon the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process. Stating that the U.S. taking control of the Zangezur Corridor for 99 years would strain Iran and Russia, he said, “If Turkey were a regional power, we would have organized this peace ourselves.”

“THE CLAIM OF BEING A REGIONAL POWER IS NOT REALISTIC”

Altaylı stated that Turkey has lost its strategic influence with this process organized during the Trump era, and continued his words as follows:

“Control of the Zangezur Corridor should have been given not to a country 10,000 kilometers away, but at least to a regional consortium. This development is not in the interest of the region.”