On the eve before the Group of 20 nations meet to come up with a global solution to the financial crisis, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyid Erdogan pledged to work with President-elect Barack Obama to achieve peace and stem the world's economic woes.
In a speech at the National Press Club, Erdogan called for strong global cooperation and reiterated past statements suggesting that Turkey can serve as a strong mediator in talks between the U.S. and Iran.
"We are ready to work with the new administration under the leadership of Mr. Barack Obama under multilateral grounds," Erdogan said through a translator, noting that he wished to congratulate Obama for his recent victory.
The prime minister kicked off his remarks by praising the important diplomatic ties maintained by the U.S. and Turkey, and he said he hopes to continue that strong relationship with the new administration. "You know that the history of our relations with the United States dates back a long time, for over half a century," he said. "We have been two strategic partners and allies, and we are continuing to operate on mutual grounds and on very close terms," he said.
Erdogan's trip to participate in the G20 discussions comes at a time when his country's economy has faced difficulties as a result of the financial crisis.
Just one day before Erdogan's speech, Standard & Poor's cut its outlook on BB-rated Turkey to negative, citing the risk of a halt in the financing of Turkey's indebted private sector that could, in turn, affect public finances.
Also in late October, a team from the International Monetary Fund warned that Turkey's economy will suffer from the global credit crunch in part because of the country's reliance on financing from outside its borders.
The Prime Minister criticized the credit rating report Friday, saying "the reports they have drafted do not reflect the reality of my country."
Earlier this year, before the crisis blew up, Turkey took out an IMF loan that was equivalent to $10.8 billion. Since then, the government had hoped to avoid going back for a second loan, because such loans generally require a cut in public spending.
Investors are hoping discussions from the G20 summit will provide some clarity on whether or not Turkey and the IMF will strike a deal on a second loan.
Erdogan met with IMf Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn Friday to discuss the Turkish economy and the G20 meeting, the IMF said in a statement.
"They had a good discussion and agreed to continue the close contact and collaboration in the future," the IMF said.
Turkish media reports in recent days have also raised the prospect that Erdogan may instead seek a currency swap agreement with the Federal Reserve.
Erdogan said Friday he has no immediate plans to ask the Federal Reserve for a swap line, although if help were available in that area, he'd gladly take it.
"If there is such an opportunity, why should we not take advantage of it?" he asked. "We would."
In terms of addressing the current financial crisis at Saturday's summit, Erdogan said there needs to be greater efforts to allow for the free-flow of capital and he believes trade barriers should be lowered to help revive the global economy.
He said he hopes the G20 will address a number of issues, including reforms for the IMF and an examination of the global financial structure.
Despite some of the recent negative economic news out of his country, Erdogan chose to focus on more positive developments. He noted that Turkey's financial and economic system has gone through a "deeply rooted transition" in its quest to enter the European Union and that there have been increases in the country's economic growth and per capital income, among other things.
In his speech, Erdogan also reiterated his country's willingness to help mediate talks between Iran and the U.S., saying Turkey is in a good diplomatic position to do so.
"I believe we would have a very positive impact on the process," he said, noting that his country has previously told Iran it doesn't support nuclear proliferation in the name of violence.
"In this subject, our stance is clear," he said, adding the development of weapons of mass destruction is "negative," although Turkey supports peaceful uses of nuclear energy. "We have advised Iran as such," he said.
He said if he had one message for Obama, it would be a call for him to help bring about peace in the world.
"The world wants to have peace," he said. "The world doesn't want any more conflict. The American position in that regard is very significant."