Turkey passes 2020 budget with $23.4 billion deficit
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Turkish parliament on Saturday morning approved the 2020 budget submitted by the government that included an estimated deficit of 138.9 billion Turkish lira ($23.4 billion) and increases in overall spending.
The state-run Anadolu Agency said the measure projects increased spending on defense, health, education, and a future rise in budget revenues.
Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, also President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-law, has said that the budget will be used to finance what he called a “production-based transformation of the economy,” reported Reuters.
In mid-2018, Albayrak blamed US President Donald Trump for the dramatic spiraling of the lira as its value dropped to record lows.
“It is malicious to blame the Turkish economy of fragility in this state of affairs at a time a US President targeted our currency directly,” said Albayrak.
Read More: Erdogan's son-in-law blames Turkish Lira's plunge on Trump
Earlier in December, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has passed a bill that would sanction Turkey for its acquisition of the advanced Russian air defense system, the S-400, as well as for its attack on Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria.
Read More: Senate committee approves bill to impose sanctions on Turkey
The House of Representatives, which is led by Democrats, passed its own version of such legislation in October, by an overwhelming 403 to 16. However, the Republican-led Senate, deferring to the White House, had, until now, delayed any action.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Washington last month, and Trump hosted a meeting with five Republican senators, including Risch, in what was seen as an attempt to show the Turkish president how American democracy worked and impress upon him that Trump could not necessarily prevent Congress from acting against Turkey.
Read More: US Congressmen protest Erdogan visit to Washington
