Opposition to Turkey coup attempt cut risk, advisor says

ANKARA (AA) - The public’s response to last week’s failed coup attempt should overcome the risks highlighted by international rating agencies, Cemil Ertem, the chief economic advisor to Turkey’s president said Wednesday.

“The risks Moody’s have seen for the last two years… were the precursors of the final coup attempt,” he told Anadolu Agency. “So with this final coup, the risks stated by foreigners will be largely eliminated by the Turkish state and nation.”

Ertem spoke out after rating agency Moody’s announced on Monday that it was reviewing Turkey’s rating for a possible downgrade following Friday’s attempted coup.

After the coup was put down as Turks flocked to the streets to oppose rogue elements of the military, Ertem said Turkey quickly move to enhancing its security.

“Reform-related democratization will be done very fast and macro-economic improvement much faster,” he said.

Concerns about a slowdown in the economy were unrealistic, Ertem added. “The coup attempt was made against not only the elected government but also the economic structure,” he said. “We will demonstrate how solid the Turkish economy is to the world.”

The government is expected to make an announcement Wednesday following meetings of the National Security Council and the Cabinet.

“The National Security Council’s decision will not harm the macroeconomic balance in the country,” Ertem said. “On the contrary, there will be measures to fight against those attempting a coup and attacking our democracy.”

Separately, presidential economic advisor Yigit Bulut accused credit agencies such as Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s of “making things difficult” for Turkey when the country faced adversity.

“Today’s Turkey is more valuable than yesterday’s Turkey,” he told Anadolu Agency. He said the agencies had previously assessed risk in Turkey according to the probability of a coup. “But now everyone thinks this way -- ‘a coup in Turkey is not probable’.”

Turkey’s GDP increased by 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period last year, making Turkey one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members.