Efforts to solve S-400 row with US to continue until April, Erdoğan says

President Erdoğan said Turkish and U.S. officials would conduct efforts until April to resolve a dispute between the two countries over Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, which led to Ankara being suspended from the F-35 stealth fighter jet programme, in which it was a producer and buyer. "Our defense and foreign ministers will carry out these efforts. We need to see where we get with these efforts," he told reporters.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkish and U.S. officials would conduct efforts until April to resolve a dispute between the two countries over Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems.

"There is a process that is ongoing until April. Our defense and foreign ministers will carry out these efforts. We need to see where we get with these efforts," Erdoğan told reporters during his return from a trip to Qatar on Nov. 25.

"This is an issue that is related to NATO. There is nothing about using or not using them. There are steps that need to be taken within NATO rules. Our colleagues will do the work," he added.

At a meeting in the White House earlier this month, Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to ask their respective ministers and national security advisers to work on resolving the S-400 issue.

Erdoğan is set to attend a summit of NATO heads of state and government in London on Dec. 3-4.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also commented on the issue of S-400s, saying that Turkey has given no promises to anyone about not installing or using the missile defense systems.

'Qatar backs Turkey's plan to resettle refugees'

On his way back from Doha, Erdoğan said that Qatar could support Turkey's plans to settle more than a million Syrian refugees in northeast Syria after its offensive against the People's Protection Units (YPG) in the region.

Turkey launched a military incursion against the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) last month, seizing a 120-km strip of land along its southeastern border.

Since launching its offensive, Turkey has urged Western allies to back its plans to build new towns in northeast Syria, where it says up to half of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees it currently hosts could be settled.

It has called for an international donors summit to back the plan. Western officials say they would be reluctant to fund any project which involved involuntary returns or changes to Syria's demographics - something Ankara denies it is planning.

Erdoğan said he presented his plans to Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, adding that "Mr. Tamim liked our projects."

Asked whether Qatar will help fund the plans, Erdoğan said: "They are at the point of: 'We can carry out these efforts together'. There really isn't another way."

Qatar's Red Crescent Society said last week it had opened a housing project in partnership with Turkey's AFAD emergency relief authority near the northern Syrian city of Al Bab, which Turkish-backed forces seized from ISIS two years ago.

Relations between Turkey and Qatar have been close in recent years. Ankara supported Doha after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar in 2017, accusing it of funding militant groups. Doha denies the charge.

Erdoğan said that he had also presented the plans to Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, adding that he would renew his call for a donors meeting at the NATO summit in London next week. He said that realizing the plans would be "an example to the world."

The Turkish offensive was met by a chorus of criticism from Ankara's Western allies, who say the operation may hinder the fight against ISIS. Turkey has rejected those concerns and said it will continue fighting militants.

Ankara views the YPG as a terrorist group because of its links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). It has been infuriated with U.S. support for the group, and has repeatedly urged its allies to stop backing the militia.

Erdoğan calls on Turks to dump foreign currencies and embrace lira

Separately, Erdoğan on Nov. 26 called on Turks to "leave the dollar" and convert their foreign currencies to Turkish lira in order to boost the currency and show patriotism.

"Leave the dollar and the rest. Let's turn to our money, the Turkish lira. The Turkish lira doesn't lose value anymore. Let's show our patriotism like this," Erdoğan told members of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in parliament.

Earlier, Erdoğan urged the central bank to continue slashing interest rates, after it already cut by 1,000 points since July, saying both rates and inflation would hopefully hit single-digits next year.

Erdoğan, who in July ousted the former central bank chief for not following instructions, said rates and inflation were on a path to desired levels "despite all the pressure" and would remain there permanently.

The comments suggest the central bank could push on with cuts into next year, which could again raise questions over its independence while also testing a recent stabilization of the Turkish lira after last year's currency crisis.

A month ago, the bank signaled that its easing cycle was drawing to an end, a message that allayed concerns among investors and economists that government pressure would push it to go too far and risk weakening the lira.

"Much depends on monetary policy credibility," said Edward Parker, head of Fitch sovereign ratings for Turkey and the region.

Inflation "is extremely volatile in Turkey...and that is generally going to mean higher and more volatile interest rates and a more volatile exchange rate. That makes investing in local currency assets less attractive," he told a conference in Istanbul last week.

Weeks after taking the reins this summer, new Central Bank Governor Murat Uysal began an aggressive easing cycle in response to a slide in inflation, which hit 8.5 percent last month but is expected to rebound this month.

The bank has cut its policy rate to 14 percent from 24 percent in less than four months, more than investors and economists expected even while the lira has remained relatively stable. The currency is down 8.5 percent this year after shedding nearly 30 percent last year.

Uysal said last month the bank had already "used a significant portion of the space" to ease policy. But Erdoğan said there is more room to run.

"Despite all the pressure, interest rates and inflation in Turkey are on the path to desired levels. By triggering each other, inflation and interest rates will hopefully permanently fall to single digits in 2020," he said.

"When they hit single digits, the currency and economy in Turkey will be very different. Nobody should have any concerns about this," he added.