US driving Turkey to quit NATO, boost business with Russia & China – investment guru Marc Faber
Mounting US pressure on Turkey is hardly a good diplomatic strategy for Washington and its allies, says veteran investor Marc Faber. Ankara has other countries to make alliances with.
“[US President Donald] Trump doesn’t pursue foreign diplomacy. He is just like an elephant in a porcelain shop. He picks on this, picks on that, but there is no diplomacy at all,” Faber told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency.
Turkey has some leverage regarding the recent tension between Washington and Ankara, he said. “This is the Trump card that Turkey have – NATO. NATO has significant bases in Turkey. In the long run basically Turkey has two options; it can be closer to Europe and stay in NATO, or it could join the Shanghai cooperation.”
“That would imply that Turkey abandoned or have less relationships with the West and more relationships with Russia and China. This is a possibility that [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan has. I think Trump doesn’t realize that this option is very realistic.”
Faber noted that after the harsh sell-off that hit the Turkish markets, now is a good time to invest in the country. “People always say they would like to buy low and sell high. Turkish stocks are valued in US dollars. Now it’s in buying range. I think I will buy some Turkish stocks, ETF’s [Exchange Traded Funds]. I own some [Turkish] bonds. It’s not the huge portion of my portfolio but yes I own some Turkish debts. I think it’s the time to buy Turkish assets,” Faber said.
The Turkish economy has recently been hit by a record depreciation of the national currency – the lira. On Friday, Trump doubled tariffs on aluminum and steel from Turkey in response to the detention of a US citizen. American pastor Andrew Brunson is being held on terrorism charges in Turkey, facing up to 35 years in prison for his alleged role in a failed coup in 2016.
In response, Erdogan announced a boycott of US electronic devices, including Apple iPhones. Turkey has also hiked tariffs on US goods such as tobacco, alcohol, cars, cosmetics and others.
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