Trade in National Currencies to Free Turkey From Dollar 'Oppression' – Erdogan

Turkey’s shift to the international trade in national currencies will liberate Ankara from the "oppression" of the US dollar, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — According to Erdogan, the currency is "used as a weapon" regarding a number of countries, including Turkey.

"A new period of trade in national currencies begins now. If we buy something from Russia – we pay them in rubles. If they buy something from us – they pay us in liras. I spoke to China, Iran … We will disseminate this practice. Thereby we will liberate our country from the oppression of the rate [of dollar]," Erdogan said at a meeting with rural administrative authorities in Ankara.

On Friday, Erdogan urged citizens to convert their foreign currency into Turkish lira or gold following cutting interest rates to stimulate economic growth. The same day, Turkish lira slumped to a record low of 3.54 lira per dollar.

Last week, Erdogan said that Ankara had proposed Moscow to conduct trade in national currencies. Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told Sputnik that Central Banks of Russia and Turkey had begun work on technical aspects of the matter.