BRICS 2018
Turkey is Getting off the U.S. Reservation Tom Luongo Jul. 30, 2018 This year’s BRICS Summit was a big show. No question. The main event was provided by Turkish President cum Dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan wants to a a “T” to the acronym, making them the BRICTS. Erdogan also made it very clear Turkey’s shift away from the West will proceed faster if the bullying and marginalization continue. For months now, Turkey has struggled with a crashing Lira and sovereign bond market. The poster child for the unfolding sovereign debt crisis. The Trump Administration knows that Turkey is slipping from its grasp. Do you ever wonder why certain countries’ currencies get trashed when others with worse balance sheets or balance of trade don’t? You should. Because asking that simple question will lead you to asking “Why X? Why Now?” And in Turkey’s case it is for many reasons: Turkey was key in assisting Iran resist pre-JCPOA sanctions by laundering Iranian oil sales in physical gold through Turkish banks. Turkey is highly dependent on foreign energy imports and is one of Iran’s largest customers. To alleviate this foreign-energy dependence Turkey, through Russia, are building nuclear power plants and the Turkish Stream pipeline. Turkish Stream will provide Russian Gas from Gazprom at an effective discount since most of its capacity is targeted for European destinations and Turkey will likely get...
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