President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday blamed a conspiracy aimed at weakening Turkey for the recent plunge in value of the lira, saying those who worked to pressure the currency were no different from a "terrorist".
"There is no difference between the terrorist who has a weapon (and) a bomb and the terrorist who is using the dollar, the euro and interest rates for their purpose," Erdoğan said addressing a meeting with loyal local officials in Ankara.
"The purpose is to bring Turkey to its knees. Theyre using the exchange rate as a weapon," Erdogan added.
The lira has plunged to record lows in recent weeks against the dollar, losing almost 10 percent in the last month alone and raising fears over the stability of the economy.
