Page 10 - TURKRptMar22

Worrying the common man with the Russian bugbear actually makes for stale fodder, but a real war at the door in Ukraine will do the job for now in quelling the discontent. Otherwise, it would be time to redistribute some wealth and economic surpluses.
● Virus: On February 9, the Netherlands declared Turkey a high-risk area for COVID-19 infection.
Under normal conditions, the winter of 2021-2022 should be the last winter of the pandemic. However, don’t bet the farm on it. Take into account that by the end of 2022, we could be watching the development of yet another deadly variant.
● Halkbank (HALKB) case: On January 14, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan granted permission to Halkbank to appeal against the legitimacy of the case. The federal government's prosecution will remain on hold while the bank appeals to the US Supreme Court.
The Erdogan regime takes any chance it can to slow the process while the US uses the case as a Sword of Damocles.
The US is also chasing ‘SBK’, a Turkish “businessman” currently under arrest in Austria.
On January 17, the Austrian court also accepted the US request for extradition after accepting Turkey’s request in the summer.
The Austrian government will decide now who will get SBK.
● Erdogan has managed to get his claws into a “transactional” partnership with Joe Biden. He took over the Kabul Airport mission in Afghanistan. The question is how he can fulfil such a mission in such a hellish situation.
The Biden administration has somewhat backed the Erdogan regime to now but Erdogan wants more photoshoots. Such are Erdogan’s growing difficulties, though, that Biden’s tentative support may not be enough.
● Afghanistan: Turkey may be engaged in a hellish conflict scenario at any moment as its personnel (only civilians) at Kabul airport are open targets. It is said that Turkish military personnel are waiting in Pakistan to come to the rescue in case of an emergency.
● Erdogan is still pushing his luck too much when it comes to monetary policy.
On March 3, official CPI inflation for February was released at 54% y/y. January: 49% y/y. End-2021: 36% y/y.
At 54%, Turkey has overtaken Argentina for high inflation. Turkey’s next rival in the global inflation league is Suriname. Its inflation stands at 61.5%, ranking it seventh worldwide.
10 TURKEY Country Report March 2022 www.intellinews.com