UPDATE - Erdogan blames West, US for currency rate fluctuations

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY TURKISH PRESIDENT

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's president on Thursday accused the West, particularly the U.S., of trying to make things difficult for Turkey before Sunday's local elections.

Exchange rate fluctuations are an operation by the West, particularly the U.S., to paint Turkey into a corner, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised interview.

Such attempts to manipulate exchange rates are a political imposition before the looming local polls, he added.

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate stood below 5.60 as of 3 p.m. local time (1200GMT) Thursday, while the exchange rate saw 5.70 over the past few days.

The USD/TRY was around 5.40 by market close on Wednesday, as one dollar exchanged for 5.38 Turkish liras at the beginning of this year.

Also speaking on the Golan Heights, Erdogan said it is impossible for the UN Security Council and General Assembly to approve the U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation officially recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.

Israel occupies roughly two-thirds of the wider Golan Heights as a de facto result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict.

It moved to formally annex the territory in 1981 -- an action unanimously rejected at the time by the UN Security Council.

The UN said the Golan Heights is still considered an “occupied territory” under international law, despite Trump’s announcement.

Meanwhile, the EU also reiterated its stance on the status of the Golan Heights.

Federica Mogherini, the foreign policy chief of the bloc, said on Wednesday that EU "has not changed" its position, defying U.S. move to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian territory.

Unfortunately, the Gulf countries do not show firm stance on the Golan Heights crisis, Erdogan criticized, urging them to raise their voice.