Originally appeared at ZeroHedge
After an already painful start for the Turkish lira this year, shedding more than 3.5% of its value against the dollar during the first three days of 2019 when it flash crashed after Mrs Watanabe puked on the carry trade after Apple shockingly guided lower, and after early this week the lira slid lower amid renewed tensions between the US and Turkey following hopes that the feuding NATO members might finally be setting aside their differences, dashed after Bolton’s snub heard round the world by President Erdogan, the lira is now tumbling on fears of further military escalation in Syria.
On Friday Turkey’s Anadolu news agency reported Turkey has deployed tanks on the border along Syria’s Idlib province. Turkey’s defense minister further announced preparations for an invasion of Syrian Kurdish enclaves east of the Euphrates “continues intensely”.
“We have Manbij, and the east of Euphrates ahead. Necessary planning was made regarding this. Our preparation continues intensely,” Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said while inspecting troops near the border with Syria, according to Anadolu.
The uncertainty and fears of another major flare-up following last year’s ‘Operation Olive Branch’ sent the lira diving to session lows, and is approaching levels last seen at the start of November.
Turkey has billed its plans as a “counter terror” op, with the defense minister noting dubiously, “We have no problems with our Kurdish brothers, Arab brothers in Syria, Turkmens and other ethnic and religious groups. Our only targets are terrorists Daesh and PKK/YPG.”
Turkey has for months stated plans to eradicate the presence of the Kurdish YPG, which it considers a terror extension of the outlawed PKK, from near Turkey’s borders.
The question is how will the US (and Israel/Iran/Russia) respond once Turkey follows though with the action so many had been expecting and invades, again.
Turkey taking a poke at Idlib would bear out Erdogan’s ‘anti-terrorism’ rhetoric, as that province is the last to be harboring many of them. Although very few terrorists in Idlib, and none of the fighting groups, are Kurds.
Absolutely right ! Idlib is majority Turkmen brutes who are allied of course to Turkey!
I suspect that George Soros has something to do with this.
Operation Olive Branch ha? So like the Turks to pretend and call it a peacekeeping mission just like they did in Cyprus in 1974. People forget two Natoists armies have already shot and killed each other. Greeks and Turks in Cyprus!
do not forget since 1974 Cyprus been very very peaceful no more killing thanks to TURKEY, even for Greeks to thank you turkey
If you upset America, they sell your currency that they hold, because you buy US dollars to trade. If you don’t own US dollars, there is nothing for the US to sell, to damage your currency. There are only two ways to deal with the American extortion, sell massive amounts of US dollars to damage the US dollar, like China does, or not hold any US dollars, like Russia. Turkey could easily go gold.