Turks cry economic warfare as Moody's lowers credit rating
Turkey's freshly downgraded credit rating is fueling paranoia, though economists point out that Turkey's economic decline was well established before the coup attempt.
On a rainy day in May 2013, US President Barack Obama and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan stood together under umbrellas in Washington praising the strategic partnership between their countries while Moody’s Investors Service was upgrading Turkey’s credit rating to good.
But since that heartwarming meeting of two leaders, black clouds have drifted over US-Turkey relations. Deep rifts over Turkey's Syria policy, Gezi Park protests, corruption probes and finally a coup attempt have had traumatic effects on the relations between the two countries.
The latest blow came from Moody’s. Erdogan, who visited the United States in September, returned to find Turkey with a lower credit rating.
The credit rating announcements that coincided with Erdogan’s two visits to the United States have inspired a new fear: Will the next coup attempt be launched on the economic front?
