Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Thursday had telephone talks dedicated to bilateral economic relations amid the Ankara-Washington trade spat, a source in the Turkish presidential administration told Sputnik.
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th August, 2018) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Thursday had telephone talks dedicated to bilateral economic relations amid the Ankara-Washington trade spat, a source in the Turkish presidential administration told Sputnik.
"The presidents exchanged opinions on pressing regional issues. Both leaders emphasized that Turkish-French economic and trade ties play an important role in developing further bilateral investment," the source said.
Erdogan and Macron agreed that Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak and his French counterpart Bruno Le Maire should hold a meeting in the near future, the source continued.
Macron pointed out that Turkeys economic stability was important for France, according to the source.
Moreover, the two presidents discussed the recent developments in Syria with the focus on the situation in the Idlib province.
Erdogans phone talks with Macron followed his conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday.
The negotiations were held amid the escalation between Turkey and the United States over US trade practices. Last week, Washington decided to double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Turkey to 50 and 20 percent respectively, prompting the Turkish lira to hit a record low.
Ankara said it would not tolerate US policies and imposed retaliatory import duties on 22 US goods.
This escalation is the most recent case in the trade row around the US trade practices. Since March, Washington introduced tariffs on billions of worth of goods and services imported from abroad. EU member states, including France and Germany, have also been affected by these duties, which prompted Brussels to file a WTO complaint over US actions.
