German Government Not Focused On Providing Economic Aid To Turkey - Spokesman

German Government Not Focused on Providing Economic Aid to Turkey - Spokesman

The German government is not holding discussions on providing financial aid to Ankara, but does still have Turkey's economic stability in its interests, German cabinet spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Monday.

BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th August, 2018) The German government is not holding discussions on providing financial aid to Ankara, but does still have Turkey's economic stability in its interests, German cabinet spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Monday.

On Wednesday, media reported that the two sides had reached a preliminary agreement on holding a meeting between Germany's and Turkey's finance and economy ministers as part of Turkish President President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's upcoming state visit to Germany on September 28.

"We have demonstrated Germany's interest in Turkey's economic stability numerous times and on the part of various ministries, but the issue of Germany providing aid to Turkey is not being discussed ... The German government is not dealing with the issue because we're not following it at the moment," Seibert told reporters.

The Turkish economy suffered a devastating blow after relations between Turkey and the United States took a turn for the worst. On Saturday, Erdogan accused Washington of waging "economic war" against Ankara after US President Donald Trump decided to double tariffs on imported Turkish steel and aluminum imported to 50 percent and 20 percent, respectively. Trump's move accelerated the fall of the Turkish lira, which has lost around 40 percent of its value against the US Dollar since the beginning of the year.